The Bachelor
by Sednaa
Summary: Syaoran: mean, sarcastic,arrogant. Sakura: sweet,intelligent,mistress of the cards. Watch as they fight it off on 'The Bachelor'.
1. Default Chapter

A/N:- Its another chapter...THANK YOU for reviewing.

Disclaimer:- I DO NOT OWN CCS.

Chapter 1

Sakura Kinomoto and Tomoyo dadouji had graduated from Tomoeda high six years ago.

They are now twenty-three and live in a medium-sized apartment . After Reedington, Tomoyo took on Fashion studies and met the love of her life Eriol Hiragizawa.

Sakura on the other hand is a famous writer under the pen name cherry.

Sakura sat on her lovely leather couch and scowled at the letter she was holding in her hands. Leave it to her best friend to complain about her lack of boyfriends. Fuming, she reread the letter.

_Dear Saku,  
Eriol and I are having the time of our lives in the Alps, we never thought it would be this fun ! But, really Saku i can't believe i'm here celebrating my one year anniversary with my boyfriend while you are sitting there dateless !_

_So guess what we both did? We just entered you in ' The bachelor'. Isn't that cool ? I hope you get into to it Sakura ! I really think that you'll find that special someone in there._

_Lots of love,  
Tomoyo._

_ps:- Eriol says hello !_

Sakura knew perfectly well that Tomoyo wouldn't leave her alone until she had found the man she was in love with. Like that was ever going to happen.

Sakura had so far dated 9 guys in the past year. All of them had been Mr. Wrong escalated to a level that she would have never imagined.

The first one had spit every time he talked. Sakura shuddered, remembering how she had to keep a considerable distance from him in order to avoid a saliva slime bath.

The second was more interested in Sakura's boobs than her face. The guy's eyes wouldn't travel up her shoulders!

Sakura had almost liked the third one, until she had found out he was still dating his ex-girlfriend.

The fourth one was interested in Sakura's money than anything else. Great, Sakura thought, a man gold-digger. That's what the world needs right now.

The fifth had been fairly nice, but he was rather boring. And although Sakura hated to admit it, she did crave someone fairly decent looking, and he just didn't cut it.

The sixth one had been a twin and he brought along his brother on their date. Such thing's didn't fly for Sakura and neither of them were good looking.

The seventh one had been a real charmer. He even hit on the waitress on their date.

The eighth was a blind date. Sakura ended up having dinner with a 60 year old coot.

The ninth had talked a lot, to the extent where Sakura could not get a single word in. She had listened to the crazy fart until she could recite all of his childhood friends, his pets, his cousins, his sisters, and his stamp collection.

In short, Sakura was a complete jinx when it came to dating. So she might as well as take Tomoyo's help in this.

Now she had a letter from the makers of ' The Bachelor' .

Sakura hoped that she had been rejected. It was the reasonable thing to do after all, only desperate people went on these shows. Then again, she was desperate, and what if, just what if the man on the show was Mr. Right?

She tore open the letter and began to read in heated anticipation.

_Dear Miss Kinomoto,_

_We are delighted to inform you that you have been selected to appear on the fifth season of The Bachelor!_

_Please pack your bags for a six-week trip and arrive at the Li Mansion (directions are attached to this sheet) between one p.m. and five p.m. on Saturday, November 11th. There your journey into romance will begin!_

_We are excited to meet you and wish you a lot of luck.  
- Sheifa Liang, chief executive of The Bachelor_

Sakura squealed in delight . She had made it!

But then again, was that really such a good thing? Shrugging it off, Sakura walked into her room to pack her bags for the coming Saturday.

Ready or not, she had been chosen as one of the twenty-five on The Bachelor.

A/N:- You probably guessed our Bachelor now...it should be obvious. Well just tell me on what you think. Suggestions are welcome.


	2. Bring it on

A/N:- Its another chapter...THANK YOU for reviewing.

Disclaimer:- I DO NOT OWN CCS.

Chapter 2:- Bring it on

That Saturday, Sakura cautiously approached Li Mansion. It was easy to recognize from miles away with its huge, sprawling estates.

Most of all, she loved the gardens. As if the beautiful sound of water flowing from the multitude of fountains wasn't enough, the pretty Sakura trees adorning the sides of garden was enough to take anyone's breath away.

Sakura smiled ' I can't wait to stay here.. hope the guy isn't like nine of those losers i dated.'

She walked slowly to the palatial doors of the mansion, and was soon greeted by the chief executive of the show, Shiefa Liang.

"Ohayo, Miss Kinomoto" she said with a bow "I'm Shiefa Liang, I'll be giving you the details as soon as the other girls arrive. "

"Thank you" Sakura said smiling.

Shiefa turned to a silent man beside her. " James, please assist Miss Kinomoto with her bags. "

" I wonder what the bachelor will look like " Sakura mused to herself as she handed the bags over to James.

"Oh," Shiefa giggled "He is my little brother actually. He's soo Kawaai and handsome. I' sure you'll love him " she said with stars in her eyes.

Sakura was stunned "Your brother?"

"Yes " Shiefa said smiling.

Sakura just smiled politely and then stepped inside.

For a second, she could not focus. The grandeur of the place was almost too much for her to bear, from the famous replicas of paintings splashed on the walls, to the huge glass chandelier in the middle, to the lovely brown leather couch in the living room upon which two giggling girls sat.

" What's your name?" One of the girls called out to her.

"Sakura Kinomoto " Sakura replied "And you?"

"Airo Yuki , and this is Kasumi Riyo " Sakura looked at them both, scrutinizing their features.

Kasumi was a tall brunette with a sharp nose and a pleasant looking disposition, whereas Airo was just as short as Sakura, with long, wavy black hair, ruby eyes and a mysterious air about her. In short, Airo was gorgeous.

" Sakura !" she heard someone shriek behind her. She turned around and was greeted by a pair of arms.

"Ohayo" she said, her voice muffled under Naoko's tight embrace.

" What are you doing here? " Naoko demanded.

" Tomoyo" Sakura answered smiling.

Naoko laughed shaking her head "Figures, I'm here because of Chiharu and Rika.. they threatened to castrate me if i didn't enter this show ".

Sakura laughed. Before She could continue any conversations, Shiefa Liang approached and told them all to get dressed for later that night.

Sakura sighed. She hated dressing up, and was in no mood to don a gown and cake her face with goop, also known to the rest of the girl population as make up.

' But Tomoyo would kill me if i didn't wear all the dresses she made, besidesi'm going to be on TV and in front of all these girls, so i have to do this ' she thought with a pained expression.

The Bachelor is going to pick 15 girls purely on looks and Sakura decided that as long as she was in the top ten list, she wouldn't care if she wasn't picked.

Naoko came running up to Sakura. " What are you wearing? " she asked.

Sakura shrugged. "Something Tomoyo made. "

Naoka smiled " Let's see it "

Sakura walked slowly over to her trunk and pulled out a long dark green, velvet like gown that had dark green designs and they were off shoulders. She quickly changed into them and came out. Naoko was impressed.

"Sakura you look soo kawaii ! " Naoko said smiling " It brings out your eye colour."

"I agree " Airo said coming inside " How will you do your hair?"

Sakura sighed. Leave it to one of the other girls to make sure she dressed like a complete bimbo.

Sakura quickly put her hair up in a nice bun, with a few hair to frame the face. She did her makeup, and soon she was ready.

Kasumi gushed when she saw Sakura " Oh my gosh, "she exclaimed, and nearly had a epileptic fit, " you look ravishing! The bachelor is going to love you! "

Sakura blushed and smiled weakly.

The girls each piled into limos and were driven down to the other end of the estate, where apparently the bachelor was waiting.

Sakura hated to admit it, but she felt a close resemblance to butterflies in her stomach.

During the ride, in which Sakura developed a slight headache from all the squealing around her except from Naoko who was busy rolling her eyes, she began to wonder about what the bachelor would look like.

But she didn't have to wonder long, because before she knew it they had arrived.

Sakura waited her turn as all the other girls exited one by one to be greeted by the man. In the distance she heard a lot of giggling and 'oh-my-goshes'. She moaned.

'What have igotten myself into! Damn Tomoyo ' she thought with a scowl.

Finally she stepped out. And then nearly fainted.

Standing there with a cool attitude and a small frown was a tall guy with amber eyes and messy brown hair.

' I recognize that hair anywhere...' she thought as she froze on the spot. ' It can't be him though.. it can't it be.. '

"Kinomoto?" A familiar voice asked with a frown.

Sakura smiled and giggled nervously. "Li, um small world eh ? hehehe "

Syaoran smiled " It's a pleasure " he said, extending his arm. Though he appeared to besmiling, Sakura saw the burning anger behind those eyes.

Sakura smiled nervously " Likewise, Syaoran" she said taking it andbrushed past him to enter the party.

Sakura stared at her surroundings dolefully. Everyone was laughing and talking and bad-mouthing each other (whenever they were in vicinity of Syaoran). Every girl was trying to pull him away in search of some alone time.

Every girl except Sakura. Sakura did not want alone time with the bastard, she wanted to go home.

Naoko joined Sakura "So...it's Syaoran huh?" she said trying to smile and failing miserably.

"Yeah... it's him" Sakura said with a frown.

"It's okay Sakura ... so what if you two didn't get along back then in fifth grade...he moved away and it's been a long time now...he's grown up, i'm sure he got over whatever it was that he got against you.." Naoko said hopefully.

Sakura sighed and nodded ' let's hope you are right Naoko or else it's going to be hell ' she thought.

Together they watched with contempt as Syaoran sweat dropped and scowled at all the girls that literally fell all over him.

"Well i guess something's never change " Naoko said laughing.

Sakura just frowned and crossed her arms, counting the minutes until Syaoran would pick his damned fifteen girls and she could go home and pretend this never happened.

Syaoran of course, wasn't one to let it go.

He slipped into the chair next to her and Naoko with a smirk on his face. "So, Naoko, do you still read ghost stories ?"

Naoko smiled " Yes as a matter of fact i do . I'm also a writer now, just like Sakura"

Syaoran turned towards Sakura and raised an eyebrow "You are a writer? well i suppose you aren't that much a fan of Naoko since she writes about ghosts and all "

Sakura scowled deeply. "Just being in your presence is enough," she griped. "Why did you have to come talk to me?"

Naoko frowned at Sakura's rudeness but Syaoran laughed, causing quite a number of girls to turn around and swarm the table.

"Thanks," Sakura said, making a motion to get up so she could escape the chaos.

Syaoran thought a little differently. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down. Sakura was, needless to say, shocked. He was so, strong. Sure Syaoran took martial arts but she never realised he was this strong. Even in the card capturing days he wasn't like this.

She looked at him. He still had the messy hair but now it makes him look descent especially with the hair hanging in his amber eyes.

But he is still the vein, sadistic, frowning, mean kid he was at school. She could not see why these girls were so crazy over him.

"Do sit down, Sakura," Syaoran was saying. All the girls ooh-la-lahed.

"My pleasure," Sakura growled and sat as close as she could to Naoko. Naoko merely watched the drama unfold.

"So," Syaoran said coolly " What are your hobbies?"

Sakura paused. " Hmm let's see, I like to beat the shit out of amber eyed, messy-haired creatures and I like to write. "

Syaoran snickered, and so did a lot of the girls around him.

"From the looks of it, i suppose this means you two have known each other before and that you didn't get along well ? " Kasumi said smiling.

" Is it that obvious? " Naoko asked.

"Yup, plus i'm a drama lover so i guessed it. Drama rules !" Kasumi said doing a victory sign.

Everyone sweatdropped and fell down anime style.

Sakura recovered first " Oh and i also enjoy playing with cards " she said casting a secret glance towards Syaoran.

Syaoran's eyes suddenly turned a cold darker shade of amber. ' You'll pay for what you did Sakura ' he thought maliciously.

She expected to be free in a mere two hours, and up till a moment ago, he had never considered keeping her here. After all, they did not get along, to say in the least.

But now, she would pay. Not only would he pick her, he'd pick her all the way till the fucking end, so he could bug the shit out of her and then dump her in front of millions of people on T.V.

And he'd have a good time doing it.

Sakura sensed Syaoran's lines of thought and cast him a look that clearly said ' Bring it on '.

A/n:- **READ THIS:- **so for my story Clow cards exist, Syaoran and Sakura never got along...Sakura became the mistress of the cards...Syaoran got a big blow to his ego...he went back to China. . The rest you can guess.

REVIEW! JA NE!

Thank you :- Sweet-single, Pinayygrl, zaprappup , my-reflection, Chinita 92 , simplyxkitty and Shadow Nightress.

You guys are awesome and i hope this chapter is long enough...give your suggestions.. JA NE !


	3. The Date box

A/N:- Its another chapter...THANK YOU for reviewing.

Disclaimer:- I DO NOT OWN CCS.

Chapter 3:- The date.

Sakura watched as Syaoran got up and all his followers left her immediately. ' Ah ' , she thought, ' solitude again' .

The minute Syaoran and his fan club had left, Kasumi slid into the seat next to hers and Naoko.

"What's up?" she asked.

Sakura simply glared at the floor and said " I am in a very bad mood. I don't want to talk."

Kasumi clucked sympathetically. "It's okay. You take things too hard. And you have to admit, Syaoran's definitely gotten some great looks, no?"

"No," Sakura growled. "Not at all. He's too tall, too messy haired and too muscular and.. "

Kasumi laughed. "You agree with me then," she snickered.

Sakura raised an eyebrow "Which part of me telling that i can't stand him can't you understand?" she said rather harshly.

Kasumi looked a little hurt, and Sakura instantly felt sorry.

"Sorry, Kasumi " she said quickly. " Syaoran just tends to make me crazy."

"With lust, you mean?" Naoko piped in innocently.

"crazy in looooove " Kasumi said dreamily. Ever the drama queen.

" you guys..." Sakura warned, a dangerous edge coming to her voice.

"Only kidding!" Kasumi said, laughing and getting up. "Now if you don't mind, I'm off to convince Syaoran that he's going to pick me "

Naoko agreed with her "See you in a bit Sakura."

Sakura sighed. "You and everyone else. You know, you shouldn't even bother with that sick..."

Sakura looked up to see that Kasumi and Naoko had already gone.

Suddenly Shiefa Liang appeared in the room. Sakura was puzzled, how can Syaoran turn out to be such a jerk with a sister as nice as her?

She realized that Shiefa Liang had begun to speak and turned her attention to her.

"Girls, it's time! Syaoran, why don't you lead the way "

Syaoran got up and walked inside to where the rose ceremony was going to take place. All the girls followed suit, Sakura bringing up the rear rather reluctantly. Well, at least she would get to go home soon.

She prayed that her brother weren't watching this on TV. And if he was watching, she'd tell him it was all Tomoyo's fault.

Syaoran was beginning his traditional little speech. "This has been a really difficult decision to make," he began. "I mean, I think I have a connection with each and every one of you."

Sakura coughed delicately and Syaoran looked at her with loath in his eyes.

They both knew he was speaking bull shit.

Syaoran picked up the first rose tenderly and called out a name. "Airo Yuki," he said slowly.

Airo smiled, and walked up to Syaoran, accepted the rose, and gave him a hug.

"Kasumi Riyo." Kasumi did the exact same thing. So did the other twelve girls that followed, which included Naoko.

Finally they were down to one last rose. On Sakura's right, a girl was sending a small prayer up. On Sakura's left, another girl that she didn't know was biting her lip in nervousness.

Why did they care so much?

Sakura could not wait until he hurried up and called the last girl and then she would be able to go home at last.

Syaoran inhaled deeply.

'Damn,' Sakura thought. ' He's going to do it slowly. If i could just use the Time card and get this thing over with.'

"Sakura Kinomoto," he said finally.

The girl on Sakura's right burst into tears and the girl on her left bit her lip so hard that a droplet of blood appeared.

Sakura stared at him incredulously. He hadn't just called her, no, damn it, he had.

She walked up to him slowly and heard him ask the repeated question "Will you accept this rose?"

She was quite tempted to say no and poke him in the eye with that rose.

Right as the word was about to roll of her tongue, she had a better idea. So he wanted to torture her by keeping her here? Well, that could be arranged, provided she added a little bit of her own 'fun' ideas.

In fact, this would be quite the blast, to humiliate him on TV with the whole world watching.

"I will," she said, and they both smirked at each other.

The fifteen girls then headed to their room. Everyone rushed in and got the best bed they liked.

Sakura tossed and turned all night, but her dreams were constantly haunted by a glaring Syaoran in his green fighting robes (A/N: u know that green and white fighting attire he has in the anime ) handing her rose after rose.

In the early hours of the morning, Sakura realized that there was no way she was going to have a decent amount of sleep and resorted to staring at her ceiling and imagining she was at home, watching this on TV instead of actually being in it.

She watched her room mate, Ryoko, sleep peacefully. Ryoko was probably having dreams about Syaoran too, except they were fantasies instead of nightmares.

Sakura shuddered. It was quite disturbing, really, the way all these girls lusted after him.

Around seven, Sakura arose from the bed and took a quick shower. She heard noises from the bedroom near hers and peeked in to see Kasumi agonizing in front of her closet.

Sakura sighed as she herself pulled on an old sweat shirt.

She'd brought fancier clothes, but that was before she knew that the bachelor was Syaoran. He didn't deserve nice clothes. He deserves a good kick in the a.

While she waited for breakfast, Sakura pulled out a book and started to read for the next hour or so, while Ryoko bathed. Her concentration was broken, however, by a large sound that droned out any thought. It was Ryoko's blow dryer.

Sakura marched up to her and yelled, "Could you turn it down a little? I'm trying to read!"

Ryoko either did not hear her or pretended not to have heard. She continued to blow dry as Sakura watched, open-mouthed, until her hair had formed into tiny ringlets.

She switched the dryer off and turned to Sakura. "How do I look?" she asked.

For the first time, Sakura noticed Ryoko's attire. She was wearing a low-cut, puke green, lacy, skin-tight... _thing_. It did not even resemble a dress and it clashed horribly with her red hair.

"It's very... uh, unique.Syaoran will be sure to remember it "Sakura saidusing great control to keep her laughter at bay.

Ryoko practically glowed from what she thought was a compliment. "Really! " she said happily." I hope I get a date with him today."

Sakura frowned as she remembered the outline of The Bachelor. Of course. Dates!

She shuddered at the thought; a date with Syaoran. Gods, It made her past horrifying 9 dates look like heaven. Well, maybe not those dates..

Her body shook further as she remembered that one girl out of every group of girls was picked to go on an individual date.

'God', she thought unhappily,' please, let my luck be a little better than that.'

Breakfast was a quick affair and soon the girls were light-heartedly chatting about Syaoran's stunningly good looks.

" He's so handsome " one of them swooned.

Another chimed in "He's dead sexy ! God, he looked so cute when he was ruffling his hair " .

Yet another giggled. " He's my dream guy! " All the girls let out a sigh of hope and fantasy.

Sakura just wanted to run screaming down the street .

Around mid-afternoon, Kasumi ran into their quarters shrieking like a woman in delivery.

" Oh my gosh! " she screamed, and all the girls looked up from whatever they were doing,

" A date box! Girls, we've got a date box! "

"Whoop-de-doo" Sakura replied sarcastically under her breath.

Everyone abandoned everything at once, except for Sakura, who was just at this most interesting part in her book. Kasumi soon put a halt to that.

"Sakura, we've got a date box! And I'm not opening it until everyone's paying attention" she said slyly.

Sakura quickly put down her book before she was swarmed to death by a horde of angry girls.

A date box was really a letter that told which girls were going on the date and who got the individual date, along with many details.

Kasumi picked up the letter, cleared her throat and began to read in earnest. "It's for ooh, Airo, Naoko, Kourin, Ryoko and Nikki ! " she said excitedly.

"Who gets the individual date? " Ryoko demanded.

Sakura snickered, thankful that she wasn't on the list. It would be awfully fun to imagine Syaoran on an individual date with Ryoko. He'd _really _admire her puke-green thing (she referred to it as the latest in fashion magazine).

"Airo !" Kasumi said happily.

"All of you guys get to go to the hill resort with Syaoran " Kasumi said dreamily. " Afterwards you'll all have snacks and then Airo will go to dinner with him! "

Everyone 'ooh'-ed for Airo, who looked like she'd just won the Nobel Prize.

Even Sakura congratulated her. After all, she was excited about it, and she took the spot of at least one individual date. Sakura hoped that out of the remaining two individual dates, neither would be for her.

Soon afterwards, the girls going on the date departed, leaving ten girls behind. The girl named Susan soon suggested a round of the ever popular waste-of-time game, also known as Truth or Dare.

" Buuut " she squealed happily, "We'll make it truth or truth! "

" What? " someone asked.

" You'll see " Susan said, her eyes sparkling. "I'll go first. I pick Sakura."

Sakura rolled her eyes. She had many secrets, and none of these girls would really understand that.

" Fine. I suppose I'll have to pick truth."

"Okay. First rule of this version of the game is, all the questions have to be about our bachelor! "

Sakura groaned. Here she was, surrounded by bubbly girls that were all obsessed with Syaoran Li ! How she hated Tomoyo!

"My question to you is, do you really hate Syaoran?" Susan asked innocently.

Sakura pondered the question. Did she really detest Syaoran with every fiber of her being, did she really want to beat him to a pulp and leave him to die, did she really wish him to be dead at that final battle with Yue? .

Unfortunately, all the answers turned out to be no. Sure, she hated his attitude, hated him for not helping her change the cards, hated the fact that he never gave her a chance to prove herself, but not _him_.

Sakura didn't hate people. She is still has that innocent 10-yr old girl's attitude towards life.

" Well " she said, trying to explain herself "I don't really hate him, i am just mad at him for-"

But she was suddenly cut off by a shriek from another girl." Oh my gosh, girls! " Kasumi cried. " Sakura doesn't really hate our man! It's a tactic! "

Before she knew it, Sakura was being patted on the back by the girls, who were all saying, " Wow, you're so smart, playing hard-to-get right from day one!" and ,

" Wow, you are so wicked ! ", and " That's a great tactic, Sakura!"

Sakura's jaw dropped. " What tactic? " she said hotly. " I swear I can't stand him! I just said I don't hate him because I don't hate anybody! "

Of course, none of the girls believed her. Sakura wanted the floor to swallow her up. This was going from bad to worse.

The girls did not lay off their congratulations until the other four girls returned from their date.

" How did it go? " Kasumi demanded.

Ryoko smiled broadly. "He was awestruck by my outfit ."

Naoko smiled and coughed loudly "coughcough horror struck coughcough "

Sakura, once again, expressed great self-control and did not laugh. The other girls, too, shared their special moments. Only Kourin didn't say anything. She just smiled mysteriously until someone questioned her.

"Kourin! What happened between you and Syaoran?" asked Susan excitedly.

Kourin's smiled broadened. " He kissed me " she said lightly.

All the girls gasped. " Oh my gosh! " yelled Kasumi. " Really! "

" Yes. We were saying goodbye and he kissed me! "

Everyone cheered for Kourin, although Sakura noticed a lot of the girls sported frowns. Jealous, Sakura thought lightly. Already.

Soon Airo came home as well. " Guys " she exclaimed. " It was positively lovely! We talked about everything! And he kissed me good night " she said happily. Everyone sighed dreamily.

The next day, another date box arrived. This time it was Susan who intercepted it, and she screeched in a manner similar to that of Kasumi.

"I'm reading it, girls " she yelled, " So you better listen up! "

All eyes were drawn to her as she read the letter. " Okay, this date is for Kasumi, Taren, Sakura, Katey, and me !" While the other girls called grinned wildly, Sakura's face considerably dropped.

" Who got the individual date? " asked Taren worriedly.

Sakura shut her eyes and hoped that it wasn't her. " It's Sakura !" Kasumi screamed.

So much for that hope. Sakura sighed. She half-expected it, almost. Anything that could go wrong was going wrong.

" You will all be going to a spa with Syaoran! '

Sakura didn't really listen until she heard Kasumi shout, "We get to see Syaoran in his swimming trunks! Yes!"

Only then did she realize what a day she was in for.

A/N:- Thanks to last chap reviewers :- Chinita92 , simplyxkitty, Lucilia-chan ,Develish angel 4eva, Vampire jazzy, Pinaygrrl, Kimura .

Vampire jazzy:- u know that final fight with Yue that Sakura and Syaoran had in the anime? Syaoran went back to China after Saku became the card mistress... he just feels angry towards her because of it...

Chinita92;- ahhhhhh don't kill me! He will fall for her.

Lucilia-chan: Thank u! I will! Ja ne.

simplyxkitty: Sakura drop out of the show and miss humiliating Syaoran? I don't think so... -smiles mysteriously- something will happen...u'll just have to wait and see...oh and i also like it when they first fight and then fall for each other...-sighs- that is soooo romantic...


	4. Disaster date I

Disclaimer:- u know as well as i do that i do not own CCS.

Chapter 4:- Disaster Date part I

Sakura breathed in a sigh of relief as she entered the quiet of her room. That was until she remembered what torture her day would turn out to be.

Self-consciously, Sakura searched trough the dresses Tomoyo had given her.

She then selected an elegant and fashionable mist colored one-piece with a deep neck and sides that showed the sides of her abdomen. It had a design of a cherry blossom near the chest.

Although this was a little too revealing for her, there was no way she was going to show up to some pool orgy in a bikini.

Showing off to the whole T-V world her skin isn't exactly her dream come true !

She grabbed a pair of flip-flops and a cherry blossom colored pool robe, put her hair up in a bun, and stepped out to wait for the rest of the girls. After waiting for about five minutes, she sighed, went back in and came out with an interesting read.

It turned out to be a very good ideait was a good thirty minutes before any other life showed up. It turned out to be the girl called Taren. She wore a frown on her face as she pranced across the room in her outfit.

"What do you think?" she asked Sakura who was in deep thought.

Sakura looked up, a little disoriented. Her mouth nearly dropped open when she saw the tiny thing that Taren wore.

Sakura sweatdropped and gave a nervous laugh and muttered, " it'srevealingly beautiful... " hoping she would get a hint.

Taren instantly beamed " Thanks, I'm gonna knock him dead with this".

'Yeah right', she thought angrily, 'he's not going to appreciate hanging out with sluts! Or maybe he would'.

' Syaoran did kiss Airo and Kourin and i thought that he wasn't into this whole kiss a girl thing. '

'I guess he changed. So maybe he wouldn't mind getting up close and personal with miss im-wearing-a-bikini-but-it-actually-is-a-piece-of-string.'

'Whatever. It's not like i care. I was merely having a random thought ' Sakura said convincing herself.

Not long afterward, the rest of the girls were ready to go. "I am so excited," declared Kasumi happily. One of the cameramen came into the room and zoomed up on Kasumi's glowing face.

Of course this turned on her drama spree . Kasumi faced the camera and gave the big-sparkly-dreamy eye look " I hope he likes mein this outfit " she said.

Sakura groaned as the cameraman made his way to her. "Do you feel thrilled on getting the individual date?" he asked slyly.

"Yup, this is as thrilling as watching a slug race " Sakura said with asmirk. The cameraman scowled.

"Why are you on this show?" he probed.

Sakura shrugged. " Twisted fate" she answered calmly.

There was no way she was going to rant to the world about her 9-dates-disaster or about Tomoyo-the-sly.

Finally the girls all went into the Limo and began chatting happily about Syaoran.

Sakura gritted her teeth and did all her best not to jump out of the car.

After the pain staking long 15 min journey , Sakura and the girls soon found themselves in one of the China's top-rated spas (and obviously extremely expensive) Le Grand.

When they arrived, Sheifa Liang immediately greeted them. Sakura sighed. The lady seemed to be everywhere.

"I'm sure you are all very excited about seeing Syaoran!" she gushed.

All the girls smiled brightly. Sakura pretended to be absorbed in the shape of her right toe.

" First we're going to set you all up with fifteen minutes alone with Syaoran in one of the steam rooms," Shiefa explained. "Why don't you go first?" she said, pointing to a small girl who nearly jumped with joy.

" First impressions is the best" she said with a wink as she went into the room that Shiefa had pointed to.

All the other girls slid into the warm water of a nearby hot tub. Sakura closed her eyes, trying to relax. At last they were free of the cameramen who wasnow with Syaoran and thegirl.

Around her, the other girls were talking about what their impressions of Syaoran were so far.

" Sakura loves him," Kasumi said teasingly.

Sakura cracked open an eye and glared at Kasumi. "I don't think so," she said.

"You liar," another one said. "You're just playing hard-to-get !"

Just then the small girl stepped out of the steam room with a dazzled smile on her face." You're next, Kasumi."

And so it went through all four girls until at last it was Sakura's turn.

With a look of resignation, Sakura up to the room and opened it. Hot steam greeted poured outand, she couldn't see a thing.

Fumbling about Sakura sat down on one of the benches, expecting to feel the hard wood beneath her. Instead, she felt something soft and warm. Oh, no, it was rather like, human flesh!

"Giving me a lap dance, are you ? "

Sakura screamed and leapt up with a smell yelp. Unfortunately, the floor was slippery and in her haste to get up, she slid across the floor, finally banging into the opposite wall.

With a small moan and a ' Hoe' , she rubbed her elbow, which had jabbed into the wall.

Syaoran snickered " Clumsy as usual . This isn't how you impress a guy " he said lightly.

"I'm not trying to impress you," Sakura said in the loudest voice she could muster which wasn't very loud because of the pain she was in.

" Don't just sit there, help me up !" she demanded.

"Say please "

" Please . help me. up "

"Now there's a good girl "

Sakura grabbed his hand and stood up" I don't like you "she said glaring at him.

" Is that you're way of telling 'thank you ' ? "

Sakura scowled and sat down on the bench that was directly opposite. " How long do I have to be here ? "she asked.

Staoran smirked " I don't know, but hopefully not long. I'm too young to go mad "

Sakura huffed. " I'd come hit you, but I'm afraid I would fall "

" Klutz "

A few minutes of silence passed. " So " Sakura finally said, the silence was getting awkward "What girls are you interested in ? "

" I really don't know," he said thoughtfully. " There are too many."

Sakura frowned " What about Airo and Kourin ? You kissed them.."

Syaoran narrowed his eyes " They kissed me. I didn't "

"Hmm... Ryoko said you were awe struck by her outfit "

" Ryoko? The one wearing that puke-green skin tight thing? " he asked with a frown.

Sakura nodded " yup"

" If what i felt was awe then i hate to think what horror is " Syaorantold shuddering.

The rest of the time passed by in silence. Soon she was out and the date passed by rather quickly.

They all entered the hot tub, and Sakura rolled her eyes as she watched the girls constantly shiftso they could be next to Syaoran.

Syaoran looked like a deer caught in highlights, though he hides his emotion well, a long look at his eyes clearly showed his revolt.

Sakura had a strange sense of pleasure on seeing this. She sat in one of the corners with a powerful jet andrelaxed ignoring the constant giggle from the girls.

Syaoran, she noticed, was oddly quiet.

Finally the girls bade Sakura and Syaorangood bye and the two that were left were escorted to the poolside terrace restaurant.

Sakura was dismayed to find out that the menu was entirely in French. As the waiter approached the table, Sakura grew more and more agitated, but she didn't want to ask Syaoran for any help.

Maybe I can skip dinner, she thought, but her stomach immediately growled in protest.

"Vous desirez?"

Sakura stared up at the waiter who had sneaked up on them. He looked down snottily.

" You first "Sakura said automatically to Syaoran.

' Ha, take that, you jerk. Let's see how you handle this'

To her shock, Syaoran began to speak rapid French. "Je voudrais du poisson avec citron," he said.

Both the waiter and Syaoran turned to Sakura expectantly. Feeling herself sweat drop and go red, she decided that she would just have to ask Syaoran.

"Er,um.. I can't speak French " she hissed at him.

A slow grin began growing on his face. He turned to the waiter and said, "Et elle voudrait le mÃme chose." The waiter nodded, took their menus, and left.

"What did you just order me?" Sakura demanded furiously.

" Cow spleen and ferret patÃe," he smirked.

Sakura paled considerably. "You didn't," she whispered.

Syaoran's grin grew wider.

Suddenly she felt a sick wave of nausea wash over her. " How could you!" she shrieked. Some of the people in tyhe restaurant turned to look at them.

"Shut up," he said rudely. The silence grew uncomfortable as they waited for their food.

FinallySyaoran broke the silence. "So, Kinomoto, why are you on the show?"

Sakura scowled at him. "I'm supposed to get a life and be looking for a serious boyfriend as Tomoyo puts it."

"Can't believe you need Tomoyo to do a man hunt for you at age 23 " Syaoran said with a sadistic smile.

"Well at least i had gone on dates with guys, unlike you Mr.Prude !" Shesaid with a snarl.

Syaoran raised an eyebrow " For once Kinomoto you're right. I have no experience in that field "

Sakura nearly died of shock 'Did Syaoran just admit he was a prude?'

Syaoran smirked at her "I don't swing that way. You date guys, not me."

' Sick bastard ' Sakura thought snidely.

Finally, the food arrived, steaming hot, at their table. Sakura mentally grimaced and closed her eyes. She could practically feel Syaoran's smirking eyes boring into her as the plates were set in front of them.

When she opened her eyes, she stared down in shock at the plate in front of her.

"Syaoran!" she yelled. " This is salmon with lemon!"

"Ah," he said lightly. "So it is."

" You jerk! " she yelled. "You had me so worried!"

He smirked. " oops my bad? "

Sakura shot him a glare and dug into her food. They finished eating in half an hour and Syaoran payed the bill and gave a huge tip.

The waiter looked at it in glee and recollected himself . " Bonjuer Masseur and madamoiselle " he said in his snotty accent.

Syaoran looked her way and then said something in return in French. Sakura had a strange feeling he was doing this just to piss her off.

Sakura growled and cursed Syaoran under her breath.

Syaoran smirked at her " Now, now, now, Sakura you very well know that I am a legitimate child and am not a mentally unstable guy with some stick stuck up my behind... and I would rather you did not talk about the hole in my behind like that."

"You are so despicable!" she spat.

"I know." Syaoran laughed at Sakura's frustration as they kept on walking to the Limo.

Inside the car...

Sakura sat as far away as she can from Syaoran and from the looks of it he doesn't mind it either. She was glad that her date was finally over and that she can go to her room and get some rest.

The crazed cameraman had left early saying he had to go shoot their arrival. I have a strange feeling he is up to no good Sakura thought frowning.

Suddenly they heard a loud noise.

"What was that? " Syaoran asked startled.

Sakura groaned " oh no, please don't tell me that's its a flat t-"

" It's a flat tire " the driver said getting out.

Sakura sighed " I told you not to say it "

Syaoran glared " Technically, you didn't finish that sentence so it doesn't count "

" Who asked you smarty pants ! " Sakura said gritting her teeth.

Before Syaoran could continue the driver came back in " We don't have two spare tires so I'm going to find the nearest gas station " he said and went out.

'Great now i'm stuck with him! Hoe...i hope he comes back soon ' Sakura thought nervously.

30 mins later...

"Kinomoto, could you stop fidgeting. Its bothering me." His voice was cold and deep. She turned her head towards him and glared.

"Li, could you stop breathing. Its bothering me." She snapped back just as coldly.

He gave her the best of his glares and stared out the window.

'Don't kill her. Don't kill her.' He continued to chant the words in his head when she abruptly interrupted them.

" Is he coming back ?" .

He just starred are her for a few moments. His face blank of any kind of emotion.

She lifted her eyebrows and waved her hands in front of his face, " Helloooooo!"

" I don't know "

" Hoe, i can't believe I'm _this_ desperate to go back to Airhead central " Sakura said sarcastically.

Syaoran smiled inside at the comment. " Well, they can't be all that bad " he said frowning.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

" Please, most of the girls think 1984 is some brand name for clothes, Animal Farm is a movie, Hamlet is food, and Utopia is just a word too big for their vocab. And this is not even skimming the surface of the problem. " she said exasperated.

" Lint has a higher IQ and makes a better companion " she said as an after thought.

Syaoran was trying all his best to stop the twitch in his lips threatening to show itself as a full blown smile.

But alas, he couldn't and for the first time Sakura heard him laugh.

A real and deep laughter that sounded like music to her ears, and even she couldn't help the huge grin that spread on her face.

A/N:- Thank you :- Chinita92, fireflower, Develish angel 4eva, Vampire jazzy, Pinaygrrl, Kimura , lsy , Lucilia-chan, Animefreakkagome my-reflection for ur reviews.


	5. Disaster date II

Disclaimer:- u know as well as i do that i do not own CCS.

Chapter 5:- Disaster Date part II

' what went wrong? One minute I see Syaoran laughing his head off and the next thing i know he's giving me the cold shoulder again ' Sakura sighed.

" I thought i told you to stop fidgeting !" Syaoran said with a glare.

"And i told you stop breathing Li! What is your problem anyway!" Sakura shouted.

"Well I'm looking at it right now !" Syaoran yelled back.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you turning deaf ? you heard what I said !"

"How am I the problem ?"

"You took away the clow cards and You just embarrassed me in front of my family THAT'S my problem!" Syaoran said with a dark glare.

"Hey, I defeated Yue and won fair and square ! " Sakura said.

"Yeah well try being brought up all your life telling the cards belong to you only to end up losing all of them to some naive dense little bint !"

" Excuse me your royal pain in the ass, you haven't been through half the things i did ! Do you know how much I needed you back then?" Sakura said glaring.

"Needed me to what? Gloat that the cards are all yours?" Syaoran muttered narrowing his eyes.

"No piss-for-brains ! When all the cards were captured I had to transform all of them into Sakura cards! Do you have any idea how much i wished for you to be there to help me ? "

"I...um ..."

"Of course not! You were too busy being an asshole to actually care about that ! I just don't want to talk anymore about this Li, so just shut up " Sakura yelled and turned away.

Syaoran noticed that her eyes were glazed and were shining oddly. She was about to cry.

Years of fighting off Meilin had taught him to recognize the deadly signs.

The trembling lower lip  
The widened eyes to hold off the tears  
The periodic injured sniff

Yes she was about to engage in that ritual where she'd bawl her eyes out in a tidal wave of tears and banshee-like wails, while pounding herself mindlessly against the car door in anguish, and cursing heaven and hell...

Ok, so maybe she wasn't going to do ALL that, but she was definitely about to cry and he was the one responsible for it.

'oh jolly great, i'm on a fucking guilt trip ' Syaoran thought rolling eyes.

"Stop crying." Syaoran ordered.

Wrong thing to say, this made Sakura sniff some more.

Not knowing what else to do, he went and sat beside her and awkwardly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and sat somewhat stiffly. "I'm sorry " he patted her back in a mechanical sort of way.

"I-I shouldn't have gone off to China like that " Syaoran said .

"Damn right, you freaking sod " Sakura said sniffing.

Syaoran's eyebrow twitched at the insult "And, um, you should stop crying now, because it's rather unattractive and it'll make your eyes puffy and sore and you're getting my shirt wet now if you don't mind and-"

Sakura shrugged him away and went to sit in the other corner "You're not very good at this are you?" she muttered bitterly.

Syaoran just raised an eyebrow "Yeah well I don't get much practice with my kind of lifestyle."

Sakura looked at him in an odd way. "You live with 4 sisters, your mother and Meilin . You should've known how to do this by now ! "

" Living with them can only make _you_ end up in tears, so you'd only convince yourself not to run off wailing like a banshee " Syaoran said rolling his eyes.

Sakura laughed hearing this and Syaoran shot her a grin in return.

" What's wrong with your hair?" Syaoran suddenly asked frowning.

Sakura looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"What's wrong with your hair?" He repeated in exactly the same tone.

Sakura raised a hand self-consciously to her head. "Nothing, why?"

"Oh, nothing." He said quickly and looked away.

If that was a trick to try and get her paranoid about her hair, well, it was working. Sakura kept looking at the glass window hoping she could see her hair's reflection in it.

Syaoran smirked and suppressed the urge to laugh ' If she keeps this up, she'll turn vain in no time '

Just then the driver decided to turn up. They fixed the car and headed straight to the mansion.

Syaoran and Sakura went into the hallway, this is were they need to go separate ways to their rooms.

Syaoran turned towards her and smirked " It was an interesting date "

Sakura raised an eyebrow "Yup, getting stranded in the Limo was an once in a life time experience "

Syaoran smirked a lot wider " Good night Sakura "

Sakura smiled " Good night, oh and Syaoran? "

"yes?" Syaoran asked .

"I know you tricked me with that hair comment and I'll get you back for it you toad ! " she said grinning.

" Bring it on you stubborn cow! " Syaoran said grinning back

" Insubordinate jackass! "

" Psychotic bitch! "

"Stupid ..." Both Sakura and Syaoran broke off to stare at the coughing Camera man in bewilderment.

The camera man just looked at them clearly annoyed " I really need to wrap up the episode of your date, so would you mind ending your squabble and go to sleep already !"

Syaoran and Sakura looked at each other and laughed "Geez, what bee went up your ass?" Syaoran said smirking and Sakura giggled.

The camera man looked more annoyed than before.

Syaoran rolled his eyes and muttered something about ' freaks with no humor sense' . Sakura and Syaoran went to their rooms wearing a faint grin on their face.

**llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll**

The next day the last five girls departed on their date with Syaoran, excited about going to a small village. They returned, smiling happily, and one of them was squawking in delight. "Oh, my, gosh," she yelled happily. "Girls, he made out with me!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, they are too pathetic . The familiar squeal and the happy dance was getting on her nerves and were rather boring.

Just then Shiefa Liang walked in with a broad smile. "Girls," she said quietly. "It's time for the second rose ceremony."

An immediate silence followed the announcement, and the girls followed Shiefa into the next room.

Syaoran stood there near a pile of freshly cut roses. Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes as he began the usual speech"This has been the most difficult decision so far. All of you are wonderful women..."

Sakura saw him sneak a glance at her and she stuck out her tongue. It was immature, she thought to herself, but he was bull shitting his way through so many women.

Syaoran picked up the first rose confidently and spoke. "Kasumi" he said slowly.

Kasumi smiled and went up to accept the rose. Similarly, Syaoran made his way through many other girls, which, to consisted of Naoko, Airo, Susan and Kourin among them.

Finally he was down to the last rose. Ryoko was holding her breath, and Sakura almost felt sorry for her. She knew Syaoran wasn't about to pick the 'puke green skin tight thing ' wearing girl, as he called her.

Sakura's name hadn't been called and to her surprise, her heartbeat had intensified. She wanted to stay here, she wanted to get back at Syaoran for pulling that stunt yesterday.Big time.

After what seemed the longest pause, Syaoran quietly said, " Sakura."

Smirking, Sakura went up and accepted the rose, although she did back out of the customary hug. Oh, Syaoran, she thought revengefully, you have just made a big mistake. You are really in for something.

Syaoran gave her a challenging look and smirked.

' You'll understand why revenge is sweet my Syaoran-Kun. ' Sakura thought smiling.

Suddenly her smile faltered a bit ' _My Syaoran Kun_? where did that come from ?' she thought frowning slightly.

**lllllllllllllllllllll**

Sakura lay awake, plotting revenge against Syaoran. She had to get him back, of course, but the question was, how? Embarrassing him on public television was quite easy, but it just wasn't that appealing.

' Maybe...ooooh..yes ! That's the perfect plan ! ' Sakura thought .

She smiled wickedly as she felt her eyes closing. Perhaps this trip wasn't all that bad.

The next day, Sakura was rudely awakened by a smiling Naoko ." Get up, sleepy head " she commanded." Shiefa's telling us what'll happen and stuff in ten minutes. "

Sakura groaned and rolled over. " Can't you just tell me afterwards?" she said, moaning into her pillow.

"No! We won't have time to come up. Anyway, I think she's telling us who's going on the next date and such."

Sakura rolled out of bed and stomped her way to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she emerged, wearing a simple pink t-shirt and a black stretch .Her hair let loose.

She liked to think she was balancing it all out from all the gold-diggers around her.

When she reached the living room, it was abuzz with hormonal activity. Girls were shrieking and squealing as usual, but Sakura couldn't see any reason for them to be.

" What's going on? " she asked Kasumi, who was standing next to her.

" Oh Sakura! You have to see this! Omigosh! " Kasumi said, eyes sparkling. Yup, she's still has her inner drama queen .

Before Sakura could ask anything Kasumi thrust something into her hands.

Sakura realized that she was holding a stack of photographs." Whose pictures are these? " she asked warily. No way in hell she was looking at something these girls were so crazy about, what if it was Syaoran naked or something?

She wouldn't put it past these girls, they would do anything!

" They're Syaoran's baby pictures! " Kasumi exclaimed happily. " Shiefa showed them to us and we've been passing them around. "

Sakura turned them over to be greeted by, in fact, a very naked three-year-old Syaoran in a tub smiling happily. In one hand he clutched a rubber duck and in the other hand a soap.

In spite of herself, Sakura had to laugh. " He's so Kawaii (cute)" she said. " What went wrong? "

Kasumi rolled her eyes. " No pretending to hate him, missy, " she said matter-of-factly. " We all know it's a tactic so come off it. "

Naoko smiled smugly and Sakura ignored them both. She sifted through Syaoran's pictures. He really had been a very, very cute kid.

Then she looked through the pictures when he was around eight. He was still smiling but it rather looked forced and his eyes were a bit cold and guarded.

'hmm... he has this change right after he was seven...I wonder why?' Sakura thought frowning.

Just then, Shiefa Liang waltzed into the room. " How'd you girls like the pictures? " she asked, smiling widely.

" We love them! " some chorused. Sakura shook her head in amazement. They sounded like a bunch of little kids talking to Santa Claus or something.

" Well " Shiefa continued. "Here's the plan for today."

Some of the girls were so excited that the pictures soon slid out of their hands and ended up on the floor. " Nothing's better than the real thing " one of the girls declared.

Sakura looked at the picture she was holding and saw it was the naked three-year-old Syaoran's picture.

She screwed her face in disgust and willed not to gag as she understood the innuendo of what the other girl said.

'What's worse? Being stuck with a piss-for-brain ass hole (Syaoran) or being stuck with a bunch of perverted Air heads?' Sakura thought sulkily.

A/N: Thank you :- Chinita92, fireflower, develish angel 4eva, Vampire jazzy, Pinaygrrl, Kimura , Cherri-Angel-B, Animefreakkagome, iloverice, bunny-mm, EEVEE, cute-mistress-paige, GS-Kira-Yamato, Kagome and Inuyash.


	6. The butt song

Disclaimer:- I still don't own CCS.

**Previously:-**

" Well " Shiefa continued. "Here's the plan for today."

Some of the girls were so excited that the pictures soon slid out of their hands and ended up on the floor. " Nothing's better than the real thing " one of the girls declared.

Sakura looked at the picture she was holding and saw it was the naked three-year-old Syaoran's picture.

She screwed her face in disgust and willed not to gag as she understood the innuendo of what the other girl said.

'What's worse? Being stuck with a piss-for-brain ass hole (Syaoran) or being stuck with a bunch of perverted Air heads?' Sakura thought sulkily.

Chap 6: The Butt song

" There will be three dates again, " Shiefa explained. " And three different girls will get individual dates. Remember, he can only keep six of you after this round, so try your best! " With a small, deliberate wink, Shiefa left the room.

The morning turned out to be a real pain for Sakura. Today's topic of conversation was ' His best asset ' as one of the girls had shrieked.

"His best asset? " Sakura asked exasperatedly.

"Yeah! What do you think makes Syaoran oh-so sexy ! " Susan asked smiling.

Sakura stared at them open-mouthed, this is sooo not the kind of topic one should discuss, I mean come on, there are kids watching this bloody show.

" His ass " Kourin said dreamily " from what I noticed on the date, he has a world class one !" she said grinning.

" If she had stared, er, _noticed_ his butt any harder that day, it would've gone up in flames" Airo said rolling her eyes.

Sakura laughed and Airo shot her a grin.

Kourin was oblivious to all this and she was softly singing, rapping really a la Sir Mix-A- Lot to her self

" I like tight butts and I can not lie and no other sister can deny

That when a guy walks in

With an itty bitty waist and a tight butt in my face, I get wet... "

Sakura stared at her speechless. What the hell was that!

Kourin finally noticed everyone looking at her "What? This was a popular Butt song in the U.S, I just modified it a little "

Everyone sighed and shook their head, Kourin was one heck of a butt person.

Kasumi cast a sly glance at Sakura "So, Sakura who'd that date go?"

" Was it wonderful? " Susan asked dreamily.

Sakura huffed " Wonderful? Which part of it? The stink first or the stank first? "

Kasumi rolled her eyes. " Seriously, Sakura, enough with that game, " she declared, as the rest of them giggled " We already know that you want him just as badly! "

Before Sakura could defend herself, Naoko cut in. "Come on Sakura, stop avoiding the subject "

Sakura scowled at her " Fine, here's what happened "

All the girls were listening to her keenly.

" We went to the a French restaurant, he showed off his French skill, irritated me, i cursed, the car got 2 flat tires, we got stuck in the limo for an hour an-"

All the girls squealed in delight.

"Omigosh! " Susan yelled "You were alone with him on the limo for an hour?"

" Yes "

" with him ?"

"yes"

"for an hour ?"

Sakura shot her a withering glare and the girls suddenly started cheering her.

"Your tactic worked !"

" I knew you had it in you Sakura "

"Did you guys kiss?"

" any tongues?"

"ooooh did you see his shoe size?" Kourin asked slyly. She's turning out to be quite the pervert.

"We want all the dirty details! " one of them squealed.

"ooooh did yo-"

Sakura raised a hand to silence their hormonal activity " Before you tell me anything else that might leave me paralyzed, let me say this, we did NOT kiss "

Some of the girls looked really happy to hear this.

"We argued and we fought, end of story" Sakura said and smirked "Not your typical romance is it? "

Kasumi seemed put out "aw, i thought we could get some juicy details, oh well back to the topic on his asset girls !" she said and giggled.

Sakura shot them an exasperated look and shook her head. The girls were babbling about Syaoran too much for her liking.

" So, what do you think about Syaoran?" Kasumi asked all the girls.

"I think Syaoran is a strange, little man " Naoko said thoughtfully .

"Little? Why are you calling him little? Why he's-- "

"Can we please not have this conversation?" Sakura said with her hands over her ears.

"- taller than you" Kourin finished. "What did she think I was going to say? _oh,_ so Sakura's a little bit of a pervert then if she knows about this kind of stuff " she said smirking.

Once she saw Kourin stop talking, Sakura uncovered her ears only to see all the girls with grinning at her.

" Why are you people looking at me like that?" Sakura asked confused.

" oh, nothing" they chirped innocently.

Sakura narrowed her eyes and shrugged.

"You still haven't answered Sakura, what do you feel about Syaoran?"

Sakura smirked " He's the owner of no one good quality, any similarity between him and a human is purely coincidental. "

"Aw, come off that tactic Sakura, it's just us you know !" Airo said exasperated.

Sakura glared at them and sighed " He just makes me feel soooo, argh, I don't know, I guess he manages to squeeze all sorts of things in me "

Kourin giggled " Is that a kinky Euphemism...? "

Sakura turned a pretty shade of red and sweat dropped.

Naoko smirked and shook her head "Nah, that's just your one-track mind Kourin "

All the girls laughed and after what seemed like ages (for Sakura) , a date box finally arrived. " Open it! " Susan commanded , her voice filled with nervousness.

" Sakura " one of the girls gushed, " You've never opened a box. You do the honors. "

Sakura sighed "Oh, joy " she muttered sarcastically and moved sluggishly towards the date box.

" Okay," she said dully. " It's for Airo, Kourin, Rachel and Ashley" The four girls looked at each other, slightly disappointed.

" It's the four-person date " Rachel sighed ." That means we each get less time with Syaoran "

"That should be considered a good thing " Sakura said dryly, unsympathetic to the girls' woes. " And Rachel gets the individual date. "

Rachel smiled wildly while the other girls looked down, biting their lips in an effort not to cry.

" Where's the date to?" Kourin asked sullenly.

"Um, you guys are going to a mountain, and Rachel will dine with him on the hill top restaurant "

All the girls rushed out of the room to get ready for their date.

**llllllllllllllllllllll**

Kasumi, Naoko and Susan were currently in Sakura's room.

Naoko was busy writing her next book and Sakura was reading.

" Hey Sakura, do you want us to do a makeover for you?" Kasumi asked hopefully

" Uh " Sakura made a show of thinking hard as she pretended to consider that suggestion from every angle. Then eventually she bluntly said, "No."

"aw come on? atleast the nails?" Susan asked.

Sakura sighed "oh, alright. "

Each girls, eagerly seized one of the victim's hands, only to be met with disappointment.

" Broken " Susan commented disdainfully.

"Chewed off, " Kasumi sniffed with immense disgust.

" Not painted! " The two shrieked, fixing each other with looks of horror.

Sakura snorted.

" Are you thinking what I'm thinking? " Kasumi asked, a slow smile spreading across her face.

" I sure hope so, " Susan responded.

"Manicure " both girls squealed. Then it was Sakura's turn to look horrified.

"Hmmmm...I think a nice blue would go well with her skin tone. " Susan said thoughtfully.

Kasumi nodded, Naoko just shook her head at their antics and went back to writing.

" Blue it is then "

" Hey, wait a minute! " Sakura cut in." Don't I get a say in this? "

" Oh! sorry, Sakura! " Susan apologized. Sakura breathed a sigh in relief.

" What color do you want? " She asked.

" I like them the way they are , thank you very much" Sakura said huffing.

Kasumi and Susan gave her a look.

"Come on Sakura, this is like THE most important thing a girl should do "

"Yeah, Kasumi's right, nail polishes are girl's gift from god !"

Sakura sighed 'It's useless to argue with them'. " Fine "

" Alright, Sakura, what color would you like your nails? " Kasumi asked.

" I thought you were going to paint them blue. "

Kasumi rolled her eyes.

"Sakura, there's more than one kind of blue, especially when it comes to nail polish . There's sky blue, baby blue, midnight blue, periwinkle, navy blue, green blue, blue green, aqua, sapphire, cerulean, azure, lazuli, blue chrome, Silver blue, sparkling blue, dark, almost black blue, light, nearly white blue, royal blue, ocean blue, ice blue, Prussian blue, iron blue, crystal blue, turquoise, blue bell, blue violet, beryl, cobalt, indigo, teal, ultramarine, blueberry, neon blue, steel blue, blue grey, grey blue, robin's egg blue, cadet blue, Pacific blue, manatee, cornflower, denim, and wild blue yonder. "

Sakura's head was spinning. Why anyone would make or buy so many different variations of one color just to decorate their toenails or fingernails was beyond her.

She'd never understand these girls. Sakura sighed and picked up a bottle of light blue polish.

Kasumi inspected her choice. " Ah, Silver blue. Good choice. Now put your fingers on the table "

So the girls painted her nails and Sakura looked at the finished product. She had to admit it did look good.

" Thanks girls, I love it " Sakura said smiling.

"It's all right Sakura" They said happily and they began to discuss the latest Fashion news .

Sakura sighed ' Typical '

**llllllllllllllllllllllllll**

Sakura and Naoko were near the dining table filling their glass with beer. They don't drink often but with a bunch of giggling girls to torment your peaceful day , they decided to take a break from it.

Currently all the girls have swarmed over the three girls who came back from their dates.

It looked like they were doing a mini-version of twenty questions.

Sakura watched with some interest as Rachel came back from her date and the other girls positively radiated jealousy.

"Well, how was it? " Ashley asked coolly.

" It was perfect, " Rachel gushed, smiling broadly. "And check this out " She held up a crystal necklace, which Sakura had to admit ,although reluctantly, was very nice. " He has the best taste in jewelry, don't you think?" Rachel asked smugly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. Rachel was just asking for trouble.

" Well, when do you think the next date box will arrive? " Naoko interrupted, just in case the girls were stupid enough to get into a cat fight.

" Tomorrow morning " Kasumi declared. " Hope I get the individual date "

Sakura heard muttering all over the room, protesting this last statement. Many of the girls were already turning green with jealousy and red with anger.

Sakura turned at Naoko " Christmas came early this year " she said smiling.

Naoko saw the girl's faces and laughed " You're right . Here's to merry hell !" she beamed and offered her beer in a toast.

Sakura grinned back and clinked her glass with Naoko's .

A/N:- I would like to thank:- Chinita92, fireflower, Inuyash, Kagome, GS-Kira-Yamato, White-LK, mystiekaye, Pinaygrrl, IS2Cookies,DarkAngelKat and SakuraKino for their reviews!


	7. Driveway to hell

Disclaimer:- Guess who doesn't own CCS? go on, just guess! It's moi !

**Previously:-**

Sakura heard muttering all over the room, protesting this last statement. Many of the girls were already turning green with envy and red with anger.

Sakura turned at Naoko " Christmas came early this year " she said smiling.

Naoko saw the girl's faces and laughed " You're right . Here's to merry hell !" she beamed and offered her beer in a toast.

Sakura grinned back and clinked her glass with Naoko's

**Important note**: YES! All the blues mentioned in the last chapter ARE nail colors, my friend who is a die-hard-fashion-freak told me all of them, so it's all real !

Chap 7:- Driveway to hell.

Suddenly Kasumi spoke up. " Girls, how should we pass the time till tomorrow? " she wondered.

" By sleeping, of course " Sakura snapped as she got up to go to bed.

Kasumi " oh come on Sakura, let's have some fun, we can play a game or something "

Kourin smirked " I know just the perfect one "

Naoko raised her eyebrows "what's that?"

Kourin smiled "Guess his shoe size! " she answered and giggled.

" That's your idea of a game? " Sakura asked her eyes twitching.

"Yup"

Sakura gritted her teeth, stormed out of the room, slamming the door noisily behind her.

She nearly smirked when she saw the flabbergasted girls, their expressions frozen in time, but she could not stand it anymore.

' How dare they talk about Syaoran like that, he's not interested in girls lik- ' Sakura thought furiously and her eyes widened.

' I mean, er, they know perfectly well that I don't get along with him, so they shouldn't talk about him ' Sakura thought nodding her head.

'Yeah that's why they shouldn't talk about him like that '

"What's with her ? " Kourin asked frowning at Sakura's door

Kasumi shrugged and turned back to the others "oh well, who's guessing first ? " she said smiling.

The rest of the night was fairly unpleasant for Sakura, she was haunted by nightmares of several large shoe's, that had it's size written in yellow, trying to step on her.

**llllllllllllllllllllllllllll**

The next morning, Sakura woke early and quickly dressed, rushing down to the kitchen to grab a cup of hot chocolate.

Hot chocolate seemed to be a better drink to Sakura than Coffee.

Around midday, a yelp alerted the rest of them about the arrival of a date box.

Sakura nearly snorted when she saw who was holding it, Ashley with green goop all over her face and a shoddy pink bathrobe. " Okay, girls " Ashley declared. " Gather round "

All the girls immediately dropped what they were doing. The tension in the room was high, and Sakura noticed that many of the girls sent each other death glares.

"All right, this date's for Sakura, Brianna and Sandy "

Sakura groaned ' why me? '

" Where's it to? " Brianna asked at the same time as Sandy, who asked "Who gets the individual date? "

" Don't get your panties in a twist " Ashley said acidly.

Sakura could tell she was rather jealous that she hadn't been able to go on a three-person date.

" Individual date goes to Sakura " Ashley answered and all the girls were looking at Sakura with frowns.

" Hey Sakura, you told us that your previous date stunk , so how came he chose you again? " Brianna said narrowing her eyes.

Sandy glared at her "Yeah, what's up with that huh?"

Sakura's eye twitched " How should I know ? Maybe he just wants to torture me some more "

Kasumi smiled knowingly and said " uh-huh, sure Sakura "

Airo smirked "Girls, I think Sakura's hiding things from us "

Sakura glared "I'm not hiding anything!"

Of course the girls didn't believe her , all Sakura got was a pat on the back from Kasumi.

"Your such a devious girl Saku " Kasumi said giggling.

Ashley rolled her eyes " You guys are going on a drive to an ancient city nearby "

Sandy made a disgusted face "Urgh, ancient city? who in gods name would pick a place like that for a date?"

Brianna smirked "whatever, who cares as long we get to be with him "

Sakura had a vague feeling her date was gonna be worse than the large-shoe's-stepping-on-her nightmare yesterday.

**lllllllllllllllllllll**

Syaoran came at three to pick them up, Sakura noticed that the usual Limo was not there. Instead of it there was an extremely nice silver Cadillac Escalate.

Sandy and Brianna 'ooohed' and 'aaahed' at the car's beauty.

Brianna who'd been rather depressed , quickly brightened up and raced up to him. "Syaoran " she said seductively. Sandy shot her a noxious look. " Baby " she cooed.

Sakura wanted to laugh, Syaoran looked down right petrified.

Syaoran stepped away from them and coughed " This is my personal car, the limo is still having some problems, some of you may know about it " he said looking at Sakura.

Sakura stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes.

Sandy giggled "Yeah, Sakura told us about the entire escapade "

"This is my favorite car, so I'm driving and Sakura's going to sit in the front with me " Syaoran said.

Sandy and Brianna looked crestfallen " Why does she get to sit in the front?"

Sakura huffed " Hey you can go sit there for all I care!"

Syaoran looked a little panicked "Um, Shiefa said that the individual date gets to sit in the front, that's why"

Sakura smirked "oh, I don't know Syaoran i can let the-"

"No!Sit in the front, we're leaving _now !_" Syaoran said hurriedly and ushered the girls to the back.

"You're just trying to avoid them aren't you?" Sakura whispered angrily to him.

"Yes, even if it means to sit with someone like you " Syaoran snapped and got inside.

Soon the scowling Syaoran, the pissed off Sakura and the unhappy girls went ahead to the town.

**llllllllllllllllllllll**

"Nice car." Sakura commented over the shriek of the giggling girls in the back seat.

Syaoran continued to ignore her.

Sakura spotted something red on the dash board. "Ooh - what does _this_ button do-?"

" Don't touch that ! " Syaoran said icily.

Sakura quickly withdrew her hand, making a mental note that Syaoran was twice as frosty and five times scarier than his normal self when he's driving.

10 mins later...

Brianna was very busy trying to reach Syaoran's leg to feel him up. "Where are they?" she mumbled to herself.

Sakura smirked ' It's time for plan A: Drive Syaoran mad '

"Are we there yet ?" Sakura asked impatiently

" No" Syaoran answered gritting his teeth.

"Are we _nearly_ there yet?"

"No."

"Are we _nearly nearly_ there yet?"

"No"

"Are we nearly-"

"Shut up Sakura, you heard the hunk " Sandy said rolling her eyes.

Syaoran bit his tongue in an effort to stop himself from throwing the girls out.

Brianna cursed "damn, where are the- aha found 'em ! " she happily exclaimed and stepped on the 'leg' .

Sakura jerked as the car screeched to an instant halt, and felt two successive thuds against the back of her seat as the girls came pelting forward.

To say Syaoran looked mad would've been an understatement. The guy looked ready to kill.

"Why did you step on the breaks Brianna? " Syaoran asked in a low voice. But one can understand the fury etched in it.

Sandy and Sakura got the hint but Brianna didn't.

She shot Syaoran a seductive smile "Sorry baby, I thought they were your legs "

Sakura snorted and was trying not to burst out from laughter, Syaoran looked at her his eye twitching and then he smirked.

He turned back to the wheel and started off to the town.

Soon our little mistress of the cards was desperately clutching the armrests for her dear life, as Syaoran weaved his way through the traffic at break neck speeds.

Sandy just calmly had her eyes closed, and Brianna looked a little green , while Sakura, on the other hand,  
was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"S-Syaoran why are we going this fast?"

"We will be _nearly there_ this way in 10 mins " he answered flashing her an arrogant smirk.

' insolent jerk ' Sakura thought snidely and tried not to open her eyes the rest of the way. There was only so much panic and stress one heart could take.

**llllllllllllllllllllllll**

When the car finally stopped Sakura was shivering, her eyes clenched shut, and was curled up in a ball.

After confirming the car was stationary she leaped out, landed on the ground, rolled away, and then stared fondly at the ground.

Syaoran rolled his eyes " There is no need for theatrics "

A little farther behind him Brianna could be heard puking her guts out.

Sakura shot Syaoran a glare " Oh and what do say to that? " she asked accusingly pointing to Brianna.

Syaoran scowled "Hey, she deserved it for trying to feel me up AND for pushing the break "

Sakura narrowed her eyes and Sandy came out " Let's look around " she said grabbing Syaoran's hand and went away.

Sakura seethed ' She didn't even acknowledge me !'

Brianna came back looking a bit better "Hey where's Syaoran? "

Sakura scowled " with Sandy "

" That bitch! " Brianna roared and went ahead to find them.

Sakura sighed "why is this happening to me?"

**llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll**

Sakura reached the others and found Syaoran edging away from Sandy and Brianna who were determined not to let go of his arm.

Sakura smirked at him and Syaoran shot her a dirty look.

Out of nowhere, a tour guide came around, " Hello! " he said jovially, looking at the group, two of whom looked utterly depressed and angry, one who was maniacally smirking and the other who looked like he would rather be in hell .

" Welcome to Shian Ho, It was a city of ancient fashion -" this definitely got the two girls attention.

"- it was home to China's most fashionable and beautiful females, just like Paris, in ancient times Shiang Ho was the centre for clothes to -"

Sakura immediately zoned him out, the last thing she needs is to load her brain about fashion freaks that lived in China years ago.

10 mins later...

"The modern day skirts were also worn here, though they were very long. The colors varied from beige, peach and pink, they gave absolutely importance for color combinations, for them peach was the new pink , green and yellow was -"

Sakura fumed, oh god it was so boring, who the hell would've thought an ancient city existed with a knack for fashion.

Sakura saw Syaoran dislodge himself from the girls and sneaking towards her.

" How long is this going to take?" She asked him in a low voice.

"I don't know. You bored already?" he retorted.

"Out of my skull."

He sighed, then surprised her by saying. "So am I."

" Why aren't you with them anyway ?" Sakura asked pointing to the girls as they listened to the guide about color combinations.

Syaoran raised his eyebrow " It should be obvious "

Sakura rolled her eyes " So what do we do till then?"

Syaoran sighed and looked thoughtful " 20 questions?"

Sakura glared "No, what do you think will happen when I get back from this date ?"

Syaoran smirked " Seen any good movies lately ?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and said " Just a month ago I saw Titanic "

" I saw that too. It was crap." he said bitterly.

" It battered my intelligence so much that I barely found my way out of the cinema. I should have eaten twenty bags of sugar, at least it would have made me throw-up sooner. "

"You were cheering the ice-berg weren't you.? " Sakura asked smiling.

"Yup, it ended the most horrifying 3 hours of my life" Syaoran answered her with a grin.

" Did you see Blair Witch last month ?" Sakura asked.

"You actually saw a scary movie?"

"Hey, I'm 23 now, it's not like I get scared by a horror movie" Sakura said indignantly

"You fooled me" Syaoran said smirking " But yes, I did see the movie"

" Did you like it ?"

" Nah, I've seen scarier things fly out of my sister's closet " Syaoran grinned.

Sakura laughed and Syaoran had an odd sense of pleasure on hearing it.

Before their pass-the-time talk could progress the tour guide had finished his crap about the fashion city and the two girls attached themselves to Syaoran again.

**llllllllllllllllllllllll**

The afternoon passed quickly and soon the four of them were dining in Shinjin ten, restaurant extraordinaire.

"wow " Sandy exclaimed as they each breathed in the overdone decorating. " Look at those carvings, they look so ancient "

" Duh captain obvious, this _is_ an old city !" Brianna said rolling her eyes.

Sandy gave her a dirty look.

From across her, Syaoran smirked. Brianna immediately sat next to him " Baby! " she exclaimed happily and latched her arms around his.

Syaoran shifted uncomfortably, truth be told Brianna was a tad bit touchy-feely. Just a tad.

Sakura snorted. Poor Syaoran, oops, poor baby.

The waiter came around and took their orders.

Sandy looked at Sakura thoughtfully " Why'd you order a noodle?"

" I'm a vegetarian." Sakura told her. "Save for fish, egg and maybe chicken "

" Right." Syaoran scoffed. "You're a vegetarian. And I'm not a martial artist, save for swords and fighting moves"

"Are you making fun of me?" Sakura glared at him.

"Maybe" he smirked.

Brianna giggled "oh Syaoran, you look so sexy when you smirk "

Sakura scowled 'This is _so_ not my day '

**lllllllllllllllllllll**

Soon, the girls finished eating and after a little while they were biding fare well to a relieved Syaoran.

" I'll miss you baby !" Brianna said hugging him , it looked more like she was trying to choke him.

Syaoran turned a pretty blue and quickly loosened himself from her only to be pounced by a giggling Sandy.

Sandy shot Brianna a triumphant look " Take care Syaoran, it was wonderful with you, I hope we can do it again " she said smiling.

" Uh.., it's getting late so you girls better get going" Syaoran said nervously and practically pushed the girls into a limo.

Sakura frowned "Where'd the limo come from?"

"I phoned Shiefa and she sent it, I'm never letting them near my precious car again " Syaoran answered scowling at the far away limo.

Sakura laughed.

" Are you laughing at my agony? " Syaoran asked with his eyebrows raised.

Sakuratilted her head a little and gave a smirk " Do you want the truth? "

" No, lie to me. "

" Okay then, I was not laughing at the pity party you were throwing yourself. "

" I hate you. " Syaoran said but the twitch in his lips made it obvious that he didn't mean it

Sakura smiled "I hate you too "

**llllllllllllllllllllllll**

Syaoran and Sakura walked around the town.

"urgh, this city is damn too boring " Sakura said exasperated.

"What are the odds of us enjoying this ?" Syaoran asked smirking

Sakura smiled "A snowball has a better chance in hell."

"So how about we dump this place and go to a movie or something?"

"Sounds like a plan " .

"Ok then, lets go, I'll drive to the nearest theatre." Syaoran said smirking.

"If you exceed the speed of 40, I'll push you out the door!" Sakura threatened Syaoran.

Syaoran laughed "Can't make any promises sweetheart "

He paled and then a slight pink tainted his cheeks as he realized what he called her. He breathed out a sigh of relief as Sakura didn't hear it, she was too busy dreading the ride to pay attention.

They soon sped away in the direction of the movie theatre. Sakura got out of the car in a rush.

"Why do you drive so fast ? I think I'm going to be sick." Sakura said groaning.

" I think you already are." Her head shot up and she looked like she was going to rip out his throat with her bare hands.

"This is not time for jokes Syaoran." Her eyes were narrowed to slits.

" It wasn't that bad!" Syaoran said trying to be reasonable. "Man, you have no stomach for thrills!"

Sakura huffed " You have no idea how desperate I was back there to see my friends and family alive, for at least one last time "

Syaoran rolled his eyes " Do you want some snack?" he asked her

"Ok " Sakura said and they made their way to the Mc.Donald's mini snack bar .

" We want one large popcorn, extra butter, and two medium Sprites." Syaoran told a middle aged man standing there.

"Would you like fries with that?" the man asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, why not?" Syaoran snapped.

The man rolled his eyes and brought the popcorn and drinks, "That'll be $28.96."

" 29 dollars for popcorn and soda?" Sakura practically shouted.

" No problem," Syaoran handed him 20 and a 10, "Keep the change." he said smirking.

"Wow, thank you so much, now I can feed off this for the rest of my life " the man said rolling his eyes again.

"Keep talking old man and I'll have you fired faster than you can say _Happy meals_ " Syaoran threatened menacingly.

The man paled and promptly apologized "S-sorry sir "

Sakura grabbed Syaoran and led him to buy some tickets before he did something drastic.

As they went to their movie, Syaoran whispered to Sakura, "Don't you hate people like that? They're so infuriating !"

"You do realize you're infuriating all the time don't you? " Sakura said raising an eyebrow.

" Oh, I'm not like that all the time!" Syaoran answered blinking, trying to look all innocent. Sakura looked confuddled.

" I mean, sarcasm is just one other service I offer along side it! " He said, grinning arrogantly.

Sakura sweatdropped and smiled "You're so infuriating !"

Syaoran smirked and poked her nose playfully "and don't you forget it "

A/N:- Thank you: Animefreakkagome ,Chinita92, Kimura, fireflower, devilish angel 4eva, mystiekaye, Pinaygrrl, SakuraKino, Lady Golden Flower, chibisaru92 , cherryxxblossom , cute-mistress-paige, DarkAngelKat, ch!b! z3r0, VampireJazzy, GS-Kira-Yamato, midnite-goddess, Inuyash and Kagome for their reviews!


	8. Revenge gone wrong

Disclaimer:- I still don't own CCS.

**Previously:-**

"You do realize you're infuriating all the time don't you? " Sakura said raising an eyebrow.

" Oh, I'm not like that all the time!" Syaoran answered blinking, trying to look all innocent. Sakura looked confuddled.

" I mean, sarcasm is just one other service I offer along side it! " He said, grinning arrogantly.

Sakura sweatdropped and smiled "You're so infuriating !"

Syaoran smirked and poked her nose playfully "and don't you forget it "

Chap 8:- Revenge gone wrong

Sakura and Syaoran walked into the theater, carrying the drinks and the pop corn.

Syaoran found some really good seats near the middle center of the theater. The slightly dim lights were still on inside and he could see a lot of kids, some grownups, and even a few teenage couples near the left side.

Some of the latter were hardly aware of their surroundings, they were instead kissing with a fierce intensity.

Syaoran screwed up his face in disgust and rolled his eyes. He went and took a seat far way from the kissing couples.

The movie was actually very good, it had lots of action and plenty of parts when Sakura held her breath, eyes wide as she stared at the movie screen.

When the movie finally ended Sakura had a big grin on her face. But, when she started to get up, she realized that something was holding her down... more like someone...

_Syaoran._

During the movie, though neither of them had noticed it, he had wrapped one arm around her waist and she had wrapped one arm around his shoulders.

They both blushed bright red when they noticed this.

Syaoran and Sakura removed their hands quickly and they felt a strange twinge as they did so.

But obviously them being the dense person they are, put the feeling down to the clammy theatre atmosphere.

Both of them went out of the theatre each lost in their own thoughts, although the pinkness in their cheeks can still be seen.

Sakura laughed suddenly startling Syaoran " That was the most wonderful movie I saw in a while "

Syaoran smirked "Beats Titanic any day ! Although the ending was quite obvious "

Sakura frowned " I wouldn't say that, I really thought this Alex guy would get Gina in the end..."

" But I suppose, Jamey was having a better shot at getting her from the beginning, since they were best friends and all, but both of them were really hell bent on telling everyone their relationship was platonic though" Sakura continued ranting thoughtfully.

Syaoran merely rolled his eyes.

" Hey are you alright? It's not like you to be so, well, _quiet_ " Sakura asked tilting her head in confusion.

" I'm glad you noticed. I thought you were enchanted with the sound of your own voice and I decided not to disturb your self obsession" Syaoran said smirking pleasantly.

Sakura gasped and pointed furiously at Syaoran .

" Me? You call me? Self-obsessed? You of all big-headed people call me self-obsessed? Do you know the meaning of irony? " she said accusingly.

Syaoran smiled "Hm, Now that I think of it, there's not much for you to be self-obsessed about is there? "

"Oh, I suppose, Mr. frost bite here has a lot of good points huh?" Sakura said faking a yawn.

" I'm sure you attract girls by the dozen. Girls that haven't grown eyes and brains that is " she finished of with a smile.

Syaoran smirked " Believe me I do attract girls with brain and eyes, I had a huge fan club back at the school days " he said thoughtfully

" I didn't know you had a fan club. Does it have a name? Was it called after your class type? " Sakura asked amused.

Syaoran frowned " My class type? "

" Yup, you are The Syaoran, class type stupidicus-dorkus " Said the still extremely amused Sakura.

Syaoran scowled " Very funny, but no it didn't have a name, the weird part is that they didn't even go to my school "

" Obviously. " Sakura snorted. " If they did, they would've know that you have the personality of a sick cactus. "

Syaoran glared at her. " As I was saying, they all adored me because I'm handsome and perfect."

" And vain. " Sakura piped in.

Syaoran rolled his eyes. " Oh you have seen right through me. "

" I know " Sakura wisely nodded. " You're also jealous that I have better hair then you. "

" Oh that must be it. " Syaoran said in a deadpan voice.

" Mmhmm! You know some day I might be willing to swap hair secrets with you. "

Syaoran smirked " My hair maybe messy... "

Then in a low husky voice " but chicks dig it don't they?" he said with a mischievous smile on his face.

Sakura's jaws dropped ' Did Syaoran just say what I think he did?'

She blinked and then smiled " oh sure, they dig it alright ! The _it _part being a 6 feet grave to bury themselves in as soon as they catch a glimpse of your wild hair "

" Why are we talking about this again? " Syaoran wondered as they walked in the direction of the parking lot.

" Because you are jealous of me and need counseling. Not everyone can be as great as I am Syaoran, you are just going to have to get over that fact! " Sakura said with a sigh.

They continued to argue and bicker all the way to the parking lot, at the parking lot , and on the way to a restaurant.

They dined at a place called Tenshi Miko.

" I can't believe you ate an entire basket of cheese rolls. " Syaoran said sounding disdainful.

" It wasn't I who ate two hamburgers and some chicken nuggets! " Sakura shot back.

" What did you expect? You stole my cheese rolls ! "

" It's your fault for not getting my order right! "

" What? "

" You know I believe this all comes from your jealousy of my hair. "

" And you call me vain? "

" Yes. " Sakura chirped innocently as they walked out of the restaurant. "Oh and Syaoran ?"

"Hm?"

" I'm driving. "

" It's my car. So I drive " Syaoran scoffed as they walked toward his vehicle.

" Yes but it's my life and I choose TO LIVE! " Sakura shouted the last part before snatching the keys out of his hand and racing to the drivers side.

She hopped in and locked the door behind her.

Syaoran tapped on the glass. " Open up " He ordered.

" What are you going to do?" She said in a sing song voice.

He leaned into the window to prove his point. " Something horrible "

Sakura stuck out her tongue. " oooh very scary Syaoran "

" It will involve all the stuffed animal collections that you keep on your room "

"How do you know that I still have my stuffed toys?"

"Oh so you _do_ have them, I just guessed it " Syaoran said smiling haughtily.

Sakura scowled " You're good "

" I know "

" But then again, you don't know where my house is, so you can't do anything !" Sakura exclaimed happily .

" Believe me Sakura, I do know where your house is, I saw it in your Bachelor application form "

" WHAT? " She screamed and scowling she unlocked the car and hopped out, bopping Syaoran with the door.

" You really are cruel! " She huffed as she flounced over to the passengers side.

Syaoran smirked and buckled his seat belt before turning on the car. Sakura shivered and clenched her eyes shut in preparation for the wild ride she was in for.

**llllllllllllllllllllll**

Sakura kept her eyes clenched shut during the entire trip, but she could tell from the amount of swaying and careening around that Syaoran was still driving like some drunk maniac.

Once the car rolled to a stop Sakura leaped out and ran for her life up the side walk before collapsing at the mansion door.

"I hope you die a horrible and painful death " Sakura said heaving to catch her breath and glared at him.

" Glad you enjoyed the date too Sakura " Syaoran said grinning at her.

Sakura stuck out her tongue, sneering playfully " Dumb jerk "

" Wow, what a great come back " Syaoran said rolling eyes.

" I'll get back at you for this Syaoran! " Sakura said challengingly.

"Oh I'm terrified " was the sarcastic reply

" But first, I have to visit the doctors to see if I've got brain damage on bumping on the car door so many times " Sakura said scoffing as they went inside the mansion.

" Impossible " Syaoran said smirking " You had brain loss as a child. "

" You are unbearable. " Sakura yelled rolling her eyes as they reached the stairs leading to their separate rooms

" I try to be " Syaoran amiably said shooting her a grin.

Sakura laughed " You know I think I'll write a book about this. It will be titled ' How I dated a jerk and survived ' pretty catchy huh? "

" mmhm" Syaoran said amused

" I'm sure it would be a bestseller for all the spurned girlfriends of villains! I will strike a chord among millions!" Sakura said smiling gleefully.

"Good luck with that, Stuffed animal collector "

" Thank you, Egoistical dork "

" You're welcome, stupid wench "

Before Sakura could continue she was interrupted by an irate looking camera man .

" Incase you haven't noticed, we really need to finish this episode " the cameraman yelled in frustration.

Sakura scoffed " This is a major déjà vu, why is he like that anyway ? "

Syaoran nodded " I'll say... PMS, maybe?"

"Eww! He's a man, Syaoran, not a woman... hahaha. It'd be funny though." Sakura said giggling.

" Maybe he's a transvestite..." Syaoran said smirking.

The cameraman merely raised an eyebrow at the pair.

Sakura rolled her eyes " Good night Syaoran " she said and went in the direction of her room.

Syaoran watched her retreating form and softly said " Night, Sakura".

**lllllllllllllllllllllll**

As Sakura was getting into her room hall she saw Sandy explaining her time on the date.

Sandy giggled "Oh girls, you should've seen him, he was such a romantic "

Sakura looked confused 'What the heck is she talking about?'

Sandy continued unaware of Sakura's presence " He is an excellent driver too, It was so perfect "

Sakura looked at her with surprise and nearly had a fit. They tried to make each other jealous!

Sandy didn't have the greatest time, in fact, she was not less than petrified on the car ride, and probably thought the best part was the fashion explanation in the village.

The rest of the date Sandy was busy glaring at Brianna.

Sakura snorted and this got the girls attention they soon flocked over to her and started the twenty question routine.

" Give me, like, every single dirty detail! " Kourin yelled loudly.

" Where did you guys go anyway?" Kasumi asked.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the over-enthusiastic bunch of girls "We went to a movie and a restaurant "

The girls sighed in happiness " A romance flick ? "

Sakura smirked " Nah, it had a lot of action and comedy in it, and yes a little of romance too" and seeing the wild gleam in all the girls eyes Sakura raised a hand to shush them.

"But not the dirty slobbery kind of romance you guys think" Sakura said .

Before the girls could question her further, Sakura was dragged away by Kasumi, Naoko, Kourin and Airo .

"Just thought we'd save you from them " Kasumi said smiling at Sakura.

Then the girls went to back to talking with Sandy and Brianna joined them.

"You know, Brianna just went on and on about her great time at the date " Naoko said frowning.

Kasumi nodded her head.

"Did they really have a great time?" Airo asked making sure that Sandy and Brianna were far away from hearing.

Sakura shook her head " Sandy was just irritated and annoyed the whole time, the only part she liked was the explanation of the ancient fashion town by a tour guide"

"An ancient fashion town?" Naoko asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sakura smiled "Yeah, it was a major fashion centre in those days "

Kasumi's eye sparkled " I'm so happy, even the ancients know the ways of life "

Airo and Kourin cheered the Ancient wisdom.

Sakura sweat dropped and Naoko shook her head in disbelief.

"And Brianna couldn't stop hitting on Syaoran, he didn't like it, and she got really nauseous by his driving "

"Is he that bad?" Naoko asked.

"Worse, the guy who gave him a license should be shot " Sakura replied dully.

The girls giggled.

Sakura barely stifled a yawn "Sorry girls, I'm going to bed now it was a very tiring day"

Kourin smiled slyly " Syaoran must've worn you out, huh?"

Sakura rolled her eyes " Ignoring the dirty innuendo, yes he did , Good night girls"

"Night Sakura " They said in unison.

Sakura went to her room all the while formulating her plan of revenge tomorrow on Syaoran.

'He's going down' was her last thought before sleep claimed her.

**llllllllllllllllllllllll**

The morning sun was just beginning to rise at the Li mansion and our favorite sarcastic bachelor could be seen putting on his jogging dress and shoes.

Syaoran is a regular jogger and an exerciser, he finds early morning work outs a lot relaxing.

Our sneaky little card mistress happened to witness this routine of Syaoran one day, and that is why she is now seated on the branch of a tall tree under which she saw him doing his exercise.

Sakura smirked at her devious little plot.

' Trying to irritate Syaoran early in the morning is the most amazing way to start your day' Sakura thought.

She grinned humorlessly at her own jibe. Buckling down and swinging herself into a ready position, she ran through her mental checklist one last time.

1. Fill balloons with ink.

Check.

2. Climb tall tree and conceal presence there.

Check.

3. Wait for target to walk past and drop it directly over head.

Status pending…

Sure, it isn't the most wisest revenge plan we would come up with but hey this is Sakura we are talking about so, this plot is devious for people her range.

Suddenly, there was a rustle of the nearby trees and she immediately knew that it was Syaoran.

_' I just have to drop them right over his head!' _Sakura's heart leapt.

The only thing was- Syaoran wasn't standing directly under her. In fact, he was a bit higher up, and a little to the right.

Straddling the branch, Sakura scooted forward, suppressing the growl that threatened to surface with the grating of bark against inner thigh.

Syaoran turned around to the other side and did some back flips..

Shoot! Now she'd have to shift again! Leaning more to the right, she extending her reach as much as possible, every limb stretching to its' limit.

She sighed in relief as she finally had the balloon positioned perfectly over his head- only to realize that she had absolutely no hold on a branch whatsoever.

Her legs trembled once before losing their grip completely, sending Sakura plummeting towards the ground.

She gasped as she felt her sudden weightlessness, wind rushing past her ears in a dizzying flurry. Syaoran looked up sharply, and reacting on lightening-fast reflexes, held out his arms.

Sakura landed in them neatly, her slight weight barely jarring his frame as she impacted. Seconds later a splash was heard beside Syaoran.

He turned around and saw the ground with lots of ink and a torn piece of balloon near it.

Syaoran figured out what was happening in no time.

Mean while Sakura was taking several deep breaths, in an attempt to force the manic rush of adrenaline making her heart pound and her legs shake to calm.

She was alive. She was uninjured. She was…in Syaoran's arms.

Blinking her emerald eyes she turned her head slowly, coming eye to eye with a very annoyed Syaoran.

As casually as she could manage, she smiled and said " Hi, lovely trees ne?"

Syaoran growled.

Sakura gulped ' oh boy this might get messy' she thought frightfully.

"Sakura " Syaoran's voice was deliberately clipped and his eyebrows were furrowed "please tell me you didn't just jump from that tree trying to put ink on my head "

"I didn't just jump from that tree trying to put ink on your head ."

She felt an irritated growl rumble low in his throat. Hoping the cute tactic would work she blinked innocently and donned her best smile.

"Oh hell no. That look isn't getting you anywhere. You get me pissed too much as it is, I don't need you dropping out of the fucking sky to prove it "

Sakura gave out a nervous laugh at the scowling Syaoran.

" Honestly, what were you thinking? You could've broke your neck you crazy klutz ! " Syaoran said giving her a glare when he said the last part.

Sakura blinked, she didn't know whether to be happy for his concern or angry that he managed to insult her.

She was unceremoniously flung over his shoulder, his strong arm hooked in the crook of her knees to keep her from tumbling.

" I'm taking you back in, and for god's sake, try to repress your tree climbing plans from now on. With your clumsiness it's almost a given you'll fall again, and I won't always be there to catch you."

"As you wish, master Syaoran " Sakura said sarcastically.

Syaoran paused for a moment. "You sound like Wei, except for the sarcasm. I could get used to hearing that, although I'd rather hear you call me Lord Syaoran."

Sakura could hear the smug grin in his tone. She immediately bristled. "The only name you're going to be hearing out of me are on you being the Lord with a stick way up your --"

Syaoran's hold on Sakura's legs suddenly went slack and the young girl shrieked as she felt gravity's alarming pull.

Acting on self-preservation instincts alone she immediately clamped her arms around Syaoran's back. She managed to suspend herself that way, upside down, for a full five seconds before she lost her hopeless battle and found herself kissing dirt.

Syaoran's infuriating laughter drifted over her.

" Nice young ladies don't even consider saying things like that. You're such a wench, Sakura" With that final snicker he sauntered away, chuckling to himself the whole time.

Sakura fumed from her undignified position on the forest floor and heard Syaoran's parting words.

"Find the way out on your own, wench "

Sakura scowled " So much for the concern on breaking my neck" she said to herself and got up shakily and began her journey back into the mansion.

**A/n**: Thanks to: Cookiez, Animefreakkagome, cherryxxblossom, a little someone, midnite-goddess, Kitty Meow-Mix23, cloverluck11, Tella, candy-chan-chan, cute-mistress-paige, mystiekaye, Daisuke-fan-gurl, fireflower,lovergirl, lionessmama and skai for their wonderful reviews.

Tella: Yeah, fan fiction thinks they are doing a great detective job tracking down all the rule breakers, feh, won't I like to tell them the truth! I was banned from updating for about 9 days or so...i'm glad you like my version of the show, i'll talk to you later then ja ne!

a little someone: i really like ur pen name, it's nice. I'm glad you like my story and thank you for reviewing! ja ne!

cherryxxblossom: hehehe.. maybe the 29$ was a lot too exaggerating.. hehe.. Brianna's leg was under the seat so that's why she stepped on the brakes by mistake...u want to sit with Syaoran in the car ? I don't think that's good idea...-giggles- unless u have a strange fetish for maniac drivers... Ja ne !

candy-chan-chan:believe me i know the consequences of too much coffee...oh boy, it led me to do the most emberassing thing ever...but something good did come out of it..hehe...hope u liked the chap ja ne !


	9. Meeting in moonlight

**Disclaimer:-** Multiple choice question: which one of the following is NOT true? a) I'm a Scorpio, b) I own CCS or c) I'm seventeen. Answers on a postcard...

Chapter 9:- Meeting in moonlight.

Sakura trudged back to the mansion fuming and muttering curses under her breath about a certain infuriatingly-sarcastic-bastard of a bachelor.

"Arrogant acid-tongued alligator, Bullying bigheaded bastard, Cruel callous creep, Dumb despicable dog... "

Unlike normal people, Sakura uses alliterations whenever she is pissed or emotionally stressed.

Back inside the mansion...

"Hey where's Sakura?" Naoko asked frowning.

"I don't know, maybe she went down early to break fast " Kourin said thoughtfully.

The girls looked at her in shock.

Kourin finally noticed the look " What? "

"That's the first thing you've said that hasn't been filled with dirty innuendo. Congratulations! " Kasumi said smiling.

Kourin scowled and rolled her eyes.

They all made their way to the hall for break fast after being told that the date box will arrive at noon.

Breakfast was spent as usual, girls trying to hit on Syaoran, Syaoran barely covering his disgust and some of the girls arguing among themselves.

So it was a total surprise to all of them when Sakura came in looking like a cross between a tree and a deranged loon.

She has leaves and sticks tangled in her hair, her dress was dirty, she was muttering to herself and the maniac glint in her eyes didn't help her look sane either.

One thing the girls deduced was that Sakura was angry...crazily at it too...

Sakura looked up when Kasumi spoke up her voice full of concern.

" Sakura are you alright? You look like hell"

Sakura's eye twitched " Good morning to you too Kasumi " she said sarcastically.

Syaoran snorted from his place " Why, aren't you a bundle of Sunshine?" he said smirking "or should i say leaves and twigs "

Sakura scowled at him and went up the stairs, not before hearing one of the girls mutter "Dead girl walking ..." and the rounds of laughter from some of them at that comment.

Sakura blinked away the angry tears and went straight to her room , sat on her bed and stared out the window. She heard a hesitant knock on the door and ignored it.

"Sakura, it's me Naoko can I come in?"

Sakura sighed " yes..."

Naoko came in and closed the door behind her gently. She went near Sakura and sat beside her "What happened Sakura?"

"Stuff ..."

Naoko sighed ' Typical, Sakura's vocabulary gets limited when she is mad at someone ' " Did Syaoran do something?"

"yes "

Naoko frowned "What did he do Sakura? Did he harm you? "

"No"

"Come on Sakura, you can tell me anything you know " Naoko told in a coaxing and gentle voice.

Naoko then started to pluck all the leaves and twigs from Sakura's hair "Um, were you ambushed by a tree or something Saku ?"

Sakura rolled her eyes "I fell off one..."

Naoko raised an eyebrow " Why were you up in that tree, this early in the morning? Don't tell me you're dendrahellic..." she said trying to hide a smile.

Sakura looked confused "Dendrahellic?"

"A person who has sex with trees..." Naoko said trying to hide the laughter at the shocked face of her friend.

"WHAT? "

Naoko giggled "Hey relax Saku, we all know you and trees don't have an intimate relationship, what did Syaoran do anyway ?"

Sakura took a deep breathe " I HOPE THAT FRIGGIN BASTARD BURNS " she said snidely.

Naoko smiled " Well that was informative, honestly what happened I thought you guys were getting close "

Sakura seethed " Close? Close! We're not close. Friends are close! Couples are close! Doors close! Agh! What the hell am I talking about!" she yelled in frustration.

"Woah, Saku, breathe.."

"I'm breathing, I'm breathing.." she stopped her rampant pacing and did these little yoga-meditation exercises that apparently calmed her down.

" There we go," Naoko said in a therapist-soothing voice. "Now, what's troubling you?"

Sakura shot her this look that could freeze fire. "Thank you, Hannibal Lector."

"You're the one who looks like your about to start eating my brains." Naoko said smiling.

Sakura scowled "One minute he's all worried that I would've broken my neck from the fall and the next thing I know he's laughing at my face and calling me a wench ! "

Naoko sensed the confusion and anger that Sakura practically oozed out. and she came to one conclusion, it was time for some serious boy bashing.

" Ignore him then Sakura " Naoko said rolling her eyes " I know about his mood swings, from the dates I've gone on. Honestly, I swear he has a guy version of PMS. "

Sakura giggled " Tell me about it! He really can be stupid! Maybe if we to put in him a desert he would  
slowly melt. "

Naoko laughed " Can you see him? ' Help me, I'm melting! I'm melting!' " she said trying to imitate Syaoran's deep voice.

Sakura smiled " I should try that sometime as my next prank..."

Naoko nodded still smiling " Perhaps he would fit in a stove..."

" Nah, his ego is HUGE. I'm surprised he's able to walk through the doors, he really should be wearing a sign that says ' Warning: Big head! " Sakura said with a large grin.

Naoko laughed " But really Sakura did Syaoran care that much? "

Sakura smirked" Yeah, Syaoran looked as if he was the most caring boss in the whole wide world..."

Naoko smiled but choked on laughter as she heard Sakura's finishing words.

" Well he would be, if the whole wide world only consisted of him and a cockroach. And even then, it would be a hard fight. " Sakura said rolling her eyes with a grin.

Just then Airo, Kasumi and Kourin entered the room.

Sakura's grin faltered though as she realized that he did look like he cared but then again, he made her fall to the ground and called her a wench.

' So it doesn't really matter right?... ' she asked herself.

' Of course it doesn't matter! He's just a stupid jerk...' a voice spoke up inside Sakura sounding strangely like Touya

'He really does care...' this time the voice sounded like Tomoyo.

' He made her fall ' Touya-like-voice said.

' He caught her when she fell off a tree, no jerk will do that !' Tomoyo-like-voice said.

"Will you SHUT UP ?" Sakura yelled in frustration.

Naoko and the girls blinked.

"Um, Sakura, we weren't exactly talking " Airo said with a frown.

"Oh, I didn't tell it you girls, I was speaking to the voices inside my head" Sakura said lamely.

The girls gave her a look that said you-are-turning-into-a-nutsy-cookoo-and-you-better-do-something-about-it.

Sakura scowled and gave them the I-don't-friggin-care-and-shut-up-before-I-really-turn-into-a-loon-and-bite-your-head-off. look before heading outside to the hall.

All that yelling and talking made her famished.

**lllllllllllllllllll**

Sakura sighed in relief as she reached the table, there was no sign of the bastard or any other bitchy girls.

Soon she began to eat her breakfast.

"My, my Sakura you eat as if you had been starving for days " Syaoran commented coming near her.

Sakura jumped in shock " Don't do that you jerk! You nearly gave me a heart attack "

Syaoran smirked "You're just 23, you can't have heart attacks so early "

Sakura scowled "Why are you here? " she demanded after a bit.

" For the sheer enjoyment of your company. " Syaoran said sarcastically.

" Well, I'm not enjoying yours " Sakura retorted.

" Temper, temper Sakura. Now we must all know how to respect people who are older, wiser and smarter than you " Syaoran said smirking.

" Listen Syaoran, do me a favor and tape your mouth shut, I'm trying to eat in peace" Sakura said scowling.

" A little feisty now are we? Besides you already ate a lot anyway "

"I'm a growing young writer, I need my food " Sakura said huffing.

"Growing horizontally perhaps ? " Syaoran said with a sadistic smile.

Sakura shot him a glare " Why don't you tie a rock to your foot and jump off a bridge "

Syaoran feigned a look of hurt "You wound me Sakura, is this the way you talk to your knight in shinning armor?"

" My knight shinning armor?" Sakura asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I rescued you from such a devastating fall from the tree " Syaoran said his voice full of pride.

" That was before you dropped me to the ground, called me a wench and left me there in the middle of the forest" Sakura said evidently angry.

"Hey, you deserved it, besides you agree that I saved you don't you? " Syaoran said arrogantly

" Uh-huh, You were so brave and valiant in rescuing me. " Sakura said rolling her eyes.

" No problem. You can always count on your local superhero, Syaoran Li to come to the rescue." Syaoran grinned.

"Don't get use to the idea of me playing the damsel in distress." Sakura said smirking wickedly." I'm usually the villain with an Ink balloon in hand "

" Right. " Syaoran rolled his eyes "You need to improve your _evil_ plans, if that's what you call them "

"Those weren't my evil plans, they were merely starters and I guess I misjudged your skills a bit " Sakura said scowling.

" Was that a compliment? " Syaoran asked trying to hide a smile.

"No, it's a warning that I won't go easy on you next time" Sakura said narrowing her eyes.

" Then expect something equally horrible as pay back " Syaoran smirked.

" Is this the part where I tremble, shrivel up and die?" Sakura asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Syaoran bent down and whispered into her ear. " I'm afraid it wouldn't be that easy. "

Sakura faked a gasp " I'm shivering in fear, oh whatever shall I do ? " she said her voice once again filled with sarcasm.

"Have you been taking a sarcasm class?" Syaoran said, raising one eyebrow.

"You betcha. Sarcasm _' Syaoran Li_ 'stylee. It had your name on it, so I just knew this class was for me!" Sakura answered.

Syaoran gave a half grin. " Who teaches it? " He then enquired.

" I can't tell you, It's Highly confidential " Sakura said giving him an impish smile.

"Well, then I'm off. Any last superhero requests? " Syaoran tilted his head towards Sakura.

Sakura smiled and looked thoughtful.

" Don't ask me to fly to the moon though. The man living on the moon is way creepy." Syaoran said shuddering a bit.

Sakura smiled. " Don't tempt me. "

Syaoran gave her one last half smirk and a half grin before walking out of the room.

Sakura watched him sighing to herself a bit 'I really don't understand you Syaoran... '

**llllllllllllllllllll**

Sakura finished her breakfast and went inside the girls room.

Naoko and Kasumi were sitting on their bed and greeted her looking very glad to see her back to normal.

For the next hour Sakura spent her time listening lying down on her bed to Brianna and Kourin's giggles as they mulled over their thoughts of what their perfect man should do.

" I always imagined mine to give me a nice bunch of flowers and dance with me in the moonlight " Brianna said dreamily.

"My perfect man, which is Syaoran by the way " Kourin said among the many glares she received "Should sweep me off my feet and get down and dirty with me "

" Big surprise there " Airo said in a deadpan voice.

Sakura stuffed a pillow over her head, told them, rather loudly, to stuff a sock in it, and finally just given up and listened to them.

After a while it became quite clear that their versions of the perfect man were actually quite different. And all quite impossible.

Bitterly, Sakura yelled over to them that the term _perfect man_ was an oxymoron.

"Oh come on Sakura, we're just talking about what Syaoran should do " Kasumi said with an exasperated look.

Sakura gave her a sour look " If Syaoran did atleast one of the things you girls said _willingly_ then I'll eat my shoes "

The girls rolled their eyes at her and before they could discuss further the final date box arrived.

Sakura smiled and was feeling glad for the first time over the arrival of a date box.

Soon the last three girls, were ready to go on their date and came back looking happy and cheerful.

Before she knew it, Sheifa Liang waltzed into the room.

"It's time for the rose ceremony girls, four of you gets eliminated today, good luck " she said smiling and went away.

**lllllllllllllllllllllllll**

Sakura and the girls got ready and slowly marched up to the elimination room following Shiefa Liang in silence.

Some of the girls were fidgeting nervously and biting their lip.

Sakura would've sighed in exasperation at those girls, but she really doesn't find the need to get smashed by a bunch of bitchy nervous and rabid girls in the middle of a TV show.

So Sakura wisely shut her mouth and only allowed herself the privilege of rolling her eyes at those girls.

' Honestly, this is just a stupid show, who cares if he selects you or not ' Sakura thought to herself.

' I know you would...' Tomoyo-like-voice said.

' Nah, she'd be just happy to get off this show ' Touya-like-voice piped in.

'You're just in denial ...' Tomoyo-like-voice said in a sing song voice

' I'm clinically insane, I have voices in my head ' Sakura thought frowning 'If I keep this up the whole world will think I'm a nutter '

Sakura shook her head to clear the unwanted mind argument she's been having lately..

She arrived at the elimination hall and saw Syaoran standing there with a small smirk on his face which he quickly wiped away as the girls entered.

They took their positions and he began his customary speech.

" This has been the most difficult decision so far. Each and every one of you mean something special to me... "

And blah blah yada yada the usual shit he makes up.

Syaoran approached the stand were the roses lied and took a deep breath.

' He really should be an actor ' Sakura thought annoyed at his planned-but-supposed-to-be-perfectly-natural behavior.

He picked up the first rose tenderly and Sakura fought back the urge to yell " Get on with it already! " and shove the rose down his throat.

The first name he called was " Kasumi, will you accept this rose? "

Kasumi made the whole sparkly eye thing again. Hey, she wasn't the drama queen for nothing you know.

" Yes " she cried happily and gave him a hug.

And so they went through the other four names Kourin, Naoko , Airo and Ashley before getting to the last one.

Five girls were left, including Sakura, Sandy and Brianna.

Sakura felt bad for them, she knew they weren't going to be picked.

Syaoran took the last rose and paused for a moment.

Sakura rolled her eyes, the way in which he's acting, she could practically envision a 'DUN DUN DUN ' machine going on somewhere at the background.

"Sakura" Sakura smiled and went to accept the rose from the blockheaded brute.

Syaoran looked directly into her eyes, while some of the girls would nearly jump in joy if Syaoran did this, Sakura merely smirked at him and gave him a haughty look.

**lllllllllllllllllllllllllll**

The girls were bidding farewell to all the tearful eliminated girls.

Brianna was practically bawling her eyes out , Sandy joined her and they both gurgled something which Sakura vaguely wondered whether it was a 'Good bye you nice people' or 'Hope you get dumped too '

Knowing Brianna, she opted for the latter one.

All the other five girls went to their rooms and started sleeping. But Sakura couldn't.

She tossed and turned and finally decided that some fresh air would do her good.

Sakura slowly crept out of the room, not wanting to wake up her new roommate Ashley and made her way to the lake she found near the manor.

**lllllllllllllll**

Sakura silently hummed a song to herself and soon reached the place she had been looking for. Sakura's eye grew in fascination as she took in the scene before her bathed in moonlight.

The garden was nothing short of magnificent, and somehow she knew that it would be one of her favorite spots in the mansion, it was a wonder to her that none of the girls saw this place.

A giant rose covered walls and the rows upon rows of exotic, beautiful flowers. A big fountain was in the middle, and a small stream lazily wound its way through the grounds.

The moon was high in the black cloudy night sky, and a few beautiful little stars dotted the heavens.

Sakura gazed up at them, a few feet away from the lazy, lily pad covered pond. Her arms were folded, trying to retain her warmth.

The water glimmered brightly in the moonlight and when her fingertips dipped into the substance, a cool, soothing feeling met her touch. Sakura smiled brightly and felt herself relax under the cool touch.

She let out a sigh of content...

And another sigh echoed back.

Sakura raised her eyebrows thoughtfully.' There is an echo around here!' she thought in glee and her eyes brightened enormously.

Carefully , she opened her mouth. " Hello? " she called , waiting forher echo to respond.

" _Hello_ "

She giggled. ' Wow , this echo turned out really low...and really masculine...'

" My name is Sakura..." She said again, cheerfully.

" _My name is Syaoran..._ "

Sakura jumped, she had been unaware of his presence, and nearly fell into the pond.

Syaoran's hand shot out and he caught her by the waist to keep her from falling.

Sakura smiled up at Syaoran who hadn't removed his arm from her waist. " It's so beautiful out here! " she said happily.

"It was a wedding gift to my mother when she married father " Syaoran said, gazing out into the beautiful garden.

Sakura joined him. Syaoran removed his arms from Sakura and gazed at her in fascination.

The moonlight was playing off of Sakura's Auburn hair, making it look smooth as silk. It reflected in her beautiful green eyes, giving her an unearthly look.

Sakura noticed Syaoran looking at her in a strange way.

" What? " Sakura asked confused.

"Um, nothing, " Syaoran muttered, his voice restrained. He reached uncertainly for his collar. " That dress, ah , the moonlight is very " He seemed to find this statement satisfactory and stopped there.

Sakura blushed as she realized she was just in her night gown. She shivered at the sudden chill that seemed to blow all of a sudden..

"Cold?" Syaoran asked frowning.

Sakura nodded her head. There wasa rustling of cloth and to her surprise she was suddenly wrapped up in Syaoran's green jacket.

She looked inquiringly at him and he responded.

" I always bring my jacket here, If you get sick because of this cold, we might catch it too " Syaoran said smirking a little.

" Thanks Syaoran " Sakura said with a grin as Syaoran returned it with a small smile as he gazed at her.

Sakura stifled a yawn and still shivered in spite of the extra warmth that the jacket gave her. "Man i'm so tired "

" You've had a hard day after all... one can only fall from the tree, eat like a sloth, and argue with me so strenuously for so long." Syaoran said dryly as he gently wrapped his arm around Sakura's small waist.

"Dumb Jerk ! " Sakura said, poking his chest. "Hey I heard Sandy saw you after the ceremony "

Syaoran rolled his eyes "She wanted me to take her back, but I said no "

" Did Sandy take it well? Sakura asked concerned.

"Hmm, not considering the way she screamed, pulled her hair, stomped around, did this weird little funky dance and started crying enough to save the world from drought, I would say she took it excellently." Syaoran said smirking.

Sakura barely stifled a laugh.

" Though therapy would be good. " Syaoran said smiling down at her.

"All this fuss for an irritatingly infuriating imbecile " Sakura said shaking her head with a sigh "What has the world come to "

"All this time you blamed innocent old me and yet it was YOU who is jealous and need counseling " Syaoran said leaning down.

" Am not " Sakura howled.

" Are too! "

" Am not! "

"Are too! " With this Syaoran pulled Sakura into his chest, rendering the her unable to respond.

Sakura was shocked and they sat there for several moments. Syaoran closed his eyes in pure bliss as Sakura tentatively hugged him back.

The silence was shattering when she Sakura giggled and pulled out her hands into the sky "Oh wow! Look, Syaoran it's snowing " Sakura said happily.

" Hmm? " Glancing up into the now opaque sky, Syaoran could see snowflakes falling down from above.

With a pensive expression, he spoke reflectively." My mom used to tell me a story when I was little, about when it snowed. "

"Really? " Sakura asked, turning her Emerald eyes attentively on him. " What did she say? "

Thinking for a moment, he let out a deep laugh. " I can't really remember right now. "

Sakura smiled "Oh, that's alright "

Syaoran checked his watch. "Well we should head back, it's way past your bed time " He said loosening himself from Sakura and smirking down at her.

" I do not have a bedtime! " Sakura yelled indignantly.

" Yes you do. You get crabby if you stay out too late. " Syaoran said as they walked to the mansion.

" How did you know " Sakura promptly clamped a hand over her mouth. " I mean how can you say that? "

" It was just a guess "

"Drats, you're really good " Sakura said scowling.

" I know "

They soon reached the stairs to their separate room.

" Good night Syaoran " Sakura said barely stifling a yawn as she made her way up the stairs.

" Good night Sakura " Syaoran said walking over to the nearby window and looking outside.

Snow was shimmering as it sifted on the grounds of the mansion, taking solace for one seemingly enchanted night on the rooftops and peaks beneath it, in the same way, it sieved from the limbs and sky in unison.

" Snow " Syaoran whispered so softly in his thoughts. " Snow begins to fall when two people are in love"

His eyelids lowered gradually. Snow means love...


	10. Snow fight and The Stranger

Disclaimer:- I just burrowed them from CLAMP, so sue me !** :p**

A/N:- Yes, snow means love !My friend used to tell methis often...anyway go read the chap now...

Chapter 10:-Snow fight and the Stranger

Tediously, Sakura's lashes fluttered like the tentative flight of a moth as she opened her eyes to the streams of sunshine in the room.

Her eyes were like slits in the sunlight. She sat up and stretched emitting a cat like purr.

She went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, took a shower and dressed up and rushed out of the room and into the outside.

Sakura smiled in glee, It was everywhere, _snow_. She sprang onto a heap of it and rolled around laughing to herself.

" Impersonating a dog?" A deep voice startled her from behind.

Sakura grinned "Nah, That's your job Syaoran "

Syaoran smirked " Cheeky aren't you?"

Sakura smiled "Just being good old me "

"You got the old part right, but good? I don't think so " Syaoran chided with a scoff.

Sakura simply rolled her eyes at him. "Wanna make a snow man? "

Syaoran looked at her in surprise, he hadn't built a snowman for a very long time, nor has anyone asked him this before.

" Isn't that a bit childish? " he asked frowning.

"Nonsense! It's all a part of having fun, now loosen up scowling face.. " Sakura said flashing him a smile.

Syaoran sighed muttering something about crazy immature girls these days and joined her.

But what startled him more was the fact that he enjoyed it.

The sky was a watercolor clumsily painted upon, the light gray shades mixing with white, a concoction that gave it an ethereal, misty, manifestation.

The snow was like feathers heaped up and as he breathed in the fresh smell, his head rising heavenward, green eyes watched him beneath thick eyelashes.

'He looks so at peace now, he seems very relaxed ' Sakura thought smiling softly to herself .

Syaoran caught her look and gave her a genuine smile.

Sakura shivered not because of the gentle cry of the wind and continued molding her snow man.

" What are you working on? " Syaoran called behind her shoulder.

Sakura bit her lip in a smile, " You'll see..."

Expertly, she dug her fingers in the snow man's head, forming a little mouth that resembled wicked lips of a Halloween pumpkin.

Syaoran raised his eyebrows peeking at the face Sakura was sculpting, though it looked very menacing and mean, it was still done very well.

" Are you creating a Frankenstein there, or a man? "

Sakura grinned, " I didn't know you considered yourself as a Frankenstein " she shook her head mockingly, " and I thought you as a narcissist ... "

" What's that supposed to mean? " Syaoran asked his tone light and curious.

" Well, this is no Frankenstein, or snow man, this is ...Snow-Syaoran " She grinned at his face and he burst out laughing as he saw her snow-Syaoran.

The thing was the stuff of nightmares of children with its eyes that looked stony, a little twig as his eyebrows that looked menacing and about to bite one's head off, its mouth open in a yell.

" Doesn't it look nice " Sakura said with a mischievous grin.

Syaoran smirked " Many women have given me a more flattering appearance than that.."

" But something's missing..." Sakura pondered aloud thoughtfully.

"AHA! I got it.. " she yelled in glee and walked over to retrieve a twig.

Sakura ignored Syaoran's questioning face and went behind the snow-Syaoran. She came back and showed him the modified Snow-Syaoran.

It now had a twig sticking out of it's rear.

"You always walk around like you've an iron rod shoved up your butt " Sakura said giggling. "_Now_ it's perfect !"

" Well it's better than the way you walk! " Syaoran retorted with a smirk.

" How do I walk? " Sakura asked raising an eyebrow.

" Like a duck footed hunchback " Syaoran said haughtily.

Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes "For all the things I put up with, once this show's over I'm nominating myself for sainthood "

Syaoran smiled wryly. " You'll probably deserve it " he replied " God knows you have failed wherever the opposite sex is concerned "

Sakura looked at Syaoran her cheeks flushed "Listen Mr Fan-club, I have a fair share of secret admirers too"

" If I were them, I would also want to keep my admiration for you a secret. " Syaoran said smirking.

Sakura fumed. Syaoran practically could envision smoke steams out of her ears.

"Welcome back to your crabby, frost bitten self Syaoran." Sakura told him scathingly and looked away blinking her moist eyes.

For a moment, Syaoran was silent.

"Then, here's my evil act of the day " Syaoran said bending over and grabbing a pile of snow.

SPLAT

Sakura shrieked as she got thwacked on the head with a snowball. She turned and glared at him before following his lead.

Sakura grinning impishly, grabbed a fistful of snow and threw it on his chest. Syaoran ducked the next one, gathering snow in his hand and threw it full force at Sakura which slapped her face.

She brushed if off, a giggle erupting from her throat and reached for another one, not realizing that her back was towards him.

Laughing Syaoran thwacked her back, her leg , another one on her arm, another on her abdomen...

It continued on seriously, him doubling over and laughing and pausing to catch his breath, she being mercilessly cruel and showering him with snow even when he was helpless.

"You're a brutal woman! " Syaoran said as one of them smacked his back.

" That's what Touya always said when we had snow ball fights too! " Sakura said smiling up at him.

An idea formed in his head and he grinned wickedly. He trudged through the soft snow, coming closer and closer to her, all the while she aimed snow balls at him.

It wasn't until he was five feet away from her did she looked slightly frightened " Wh-why are you grinning like that Syaoran? "

"Oh, and now it's a crime to grin? " Syaoran asked raising an eyebrow his grin intact.

"No, no, I didn't say that! " Sakura stepping back and he ran full force.

She didn't see it coming, and was astounded as she hit the ground, resting on the soft snow. Cold. It was so cold as snow began to rapidly cover her.

Syaoran tackled her to the ground, tickling her until she fell and covering her swiftly with snow.

" Now, now, Sakura, just taking your word for women wanting to be buried six feet under as they see my hair " Syaoran said giving her a mischievous grin.

Sakura sputtered as Syaoran kept piling the snow on higher and higher on top of her.

" St-stop! I was kidding! It's too cold! " she moaned, but he continued anyway.

"Only if you say Syaoran is the most Handsome and Perfect guy " Syaoran grinned wolfishly

" Eat snow, Li ! " Sakura hissed.

"I'm not hungry but I can always feed you..." Syaoran said raising a handful of snow.

"You wouldn't dare ! " Sakura said her eyes widening.

"Wouldn't I ? " Syaoran asked smirking.

"I give." Sakura shrieked " Syaoran's the most handsome and perfect guy " she mumbled in a low voice.

"I can't hear you..." Syaoran said smiling down at her.

Sakura shot him a glare "Syaoran's the most handsome and perfect guy " she said gritting her teeth.

"Louder..."

"SYAORAN'S THE MOST HANDSOME AND PERFECT GUY " Sakura yelled catching her breath.

"Thank you, I know no woman can resist me " Syaoran said with an arrogant smile.

"Get me out Li, I'm beginning to numb"

" As you wish " Syaoran told her and pulled her out.

Sakura dusted off her clothes and saw Syaoran smirking at her thoughtfully.

"What?" Sakura asked irritated.

"Maybe we can do this again after breakfast, I promise to bring a stone with your name engraved " Syaoran said with a grin.

"If you even _try_ this again Li, I'll kick your ass all the way back to Ming dynasty " Sakura said with a glare and stomped away inside.

"When did you learn Chinese history Sakura ?" Syaoran asked laughing behind her.

**OoOoOoOoO**

When they stepped into the mansion, they saw Shiefa and Naoko.

Naoko was smiling and giving her knowing looks while Shiefa was grinning.

Sakura wasn't quite sure of why, And then it hit her. Her hair was bedraggled, her cheeks glowing from the cold, and her dress was rumpled.

"Looks like you guys had a nice _tumble_ in the snow.." Shiefa said with devilish smile and sauntered away laughing to herself.

Sakura and Syaoran's face burned.

Syaoran shot Sakura an awkward smile and went in the direction of his room.

"This isn't what it looks like Naoko ! " Sakura said desperately.

"Sure it isn't " Naoko answered in a disbelieving voice.

Sakura scowled "Oh come on Naoko you know me better than that, we didn't do the _deed_ ok ? "

Naoko simply smiled and walked up the stairs "Sure thing Sakura"

"Naoko, wehad a snow ball fight, that's all " Sakura told her exasperated.

"Ok. Then what about yesterday ? "

" Huh ?"

"There's a green jacket in your room. It wasn't Ashley's she's the one that asked me about it " Naoko said.

Sakura sighed "Yesterday, I went outside at night, I couldn't sleep properly and ran across Syaoran. It was cold, so he gave me his Jacket. That's it. There wasn't anything romantic going on " she said.

' Not even when he hugged you?' Tomoyo-like-voice piped in.

' or when you hugged him back?' the voice added.

Sakura shook her head, she didn't want to think about that .. at least not right now.

On entering the hall Sakura saw some of the girls like Kasumi and Airo doing their make up.

" So why were you with Shiefa?" Sakura asked Naoko as they went inside Sakura's room.

" I met her on the way down, I was was getting worried since I didn't see you in your room or the hall "Naoko said with a smile.

" Did you and Syaoran have a fun time outside? " Naoko enquired.

"No, he was a jerk " Sakura said getting a paper to write a new story.

" why do you say he acted like a jerk?" Naoko asked frowning a bit.

" He doesn't act that way Naoko, he's a natural..." Sakura said starting to poke the paper with a pen.

"Sakura, stop it! You are slaughtering the paper! " Naoko cried as she grabbed the pen from Sakura's fingers.

" I can't slaughter the paper. " Sakura said rolling her eyes at Naoko " The paper is already dead. I can't kill something already dead! "

Naoko simply gave her a patronizing look.

"This is all Syaoran's fault. He's slowly turning me crazy, that stupid jerk ! " Sakura spoke in frustration.

"Syaoran has changed a lot you know. I've noticed, it's only a matter of time before you get through to him.." Naoko said wistfully.

"Just a while ago he was talking about burying me in the snow. And besides why would I want to get through to him Naoko-chan? It's not like I'm in love with that guy ! " Sakura said huffing.

Naoko remained oddly silent at that comment.

"Anyway, It's time for breakfast " Sakura said and took Naoko along with her.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Sakura joined the rest of the girls as they chatted over the table during break fast.

' Guessing the topic of discussion won't burn your brain cells ' Sakura thought dully ' His name starts with an S and in English it rhymes with moron '

Sakura giggled at the last thought.

" What's so funny ? " Kasumi asked.

Sakura smirked " Well, Do you know to say Syaoran's name in English ?"

Kasumi and the other girls frowned "No, But we know that in Chinese it's Xiaolang " she said after a while.

"In English, It's Shoaron " Sakura said with an eye roll " Honestly, he doesn't even have a constant name like _normal_ people "

The girls ignored her last comment and sighed "That's so cuuute " Airo said with a squeal " No wonder you giggled "

" I didn't laugh for that !" Sakura snapped and continued her explanation.

" I laughed at the fact that it rhymes with moron, get it? Shoaron, moron ... Shoaron the moron?" Sakura repeated in an attempt to make the girls understand it.

"Not really..." One of the girls muttered and they went on giggling and fawning over the cuteness of his English name.

" Idiots...they really should think about getting a brain for their empty skull " Sakura said turning to Naoko.

"It's like you said Sakura, they have to _think_ about it first... get the point? " Naoko asked raising an eyebrow and smiling.

" Loud and clear " Sakura said smiling back.

Naoko shot her a grin "Let's head out Sakura, I want to see the snow, and maybe you'll get some new ideas "

"I hope so " Sakura said with a sigh.

When they reached the snow covered front lawn of the mansion Sakura frantically turned her head as if she was expecting something to jump on her.

" What are you doing, Sakura? " Naoko said laughing.

"Looking out for Syaoran " Sakura said smiling " I swear I have this feeling like he is always over my shoulder."

"You mean like now? "

The deep voice chilled her and Sakura jumped, groaning she closed her eyes.

" It's nice to see you are always looking out for me " Syaoran said smirking as he stood next to Sakura.

" What do you want? " Sakura scowled.

" Now, now. " Syaoran smiled. "You don't want to frown too much, it makes nasty wrinkles all over your face. And you don't want more do you? "

"Thanks for your beauty tips, Syaoran" Sakura smirked " I know how much you need them. "

"You are really baring your fangs out, aren't you? " Syaoran said in an amused tone.

Sakura smiled " That's because you are crazy "

"You're right," Syaoran grinned, "I think I should take a three year holiday so I can find why I'm so crazy."

"Ahh, I see, one of those spiritual retreats?" Sakura teased, and Syaoran nodded.

"Oh yeah, the whole candles and chanting? That's me," he joked.

"We'll shave that head of yours bald," Sakura smirked, and Syaoran pretended to be horrified.

"Not my hair again," he gasped. "I think you're too fond of my hair Sakura, you can't stop talking about it " Syaoran said with a laugh.

Sakura rolled her eyes "Well, you're looking unusually in a good mood today " she said in an annoyed tone.

"Hmm, I guess torturing you does wonders for my skin huh?" Syaoran replied with a wink

"Oh my god, don't wink, I think I've just gone blind." Sakura exclaimed with a smile.

Naoko watched their squabbling. ' They are so cute together, and they already fight like a married couple ' she thought smiling at them.

The whole reason Naoko came to this show was because of Rika and Chiharu. They had constantly tried to set her up on dates. Naoko tried ...she really did but they just weren't the ones.

Sure they were all sweet and showered her with gifts, but it just didn't feel right to her. When any of them tried to kiss her all she wanted to do was bolt straight out of the place and keep running with out looking back.

Finally her friends convinced her to enter on ' The Bachelor' hoping she would find her right man there.

Naoko frowned ' What a waste of time, I'm never going to find The One as every one calls it '

' Sakura is right, the term _Perfect Man_ is just an oxymoron ' Naoko thought sighing to herself.

' I need a walk to clear my mind ' she decided and moved towards the front gates of the mansion..

Just as Naoko was about to step out she saw a car pulling over.

"Get out !" The cab driver yelled from his open window. He had a thick foreign accent. Probably Swedish. "And you can take your money and stick it up your hÃ¤ck , along with your opinions, smart ass !"

A guy wearing a grey coat stepped out.

"They're not opinions! They're observations!" The guy snapped his hands clenched. "And for your information, looser, your cab does smell like something died there, several LARGE somethings !"

"Du är det mest rubbade luder som jag har oturen att träffa " the driver muttered as he began to rev his engine.

Giving him afinger the driver slammed his foot down on the gas and sped off.

The guy was very angry now. " I'll have you fired you freak ! " he shouted in vain at the disappearing car.

Naoko despite her struggles burst out laughing and the stranger turned his attention towards her. Naoko blushed a little as she took in his appearance.

The stranger had deep blue-grey eyes that stood out well against his teal hair. He was a taller than her and was frowning a little making his sinfully beautiful face like that of a displeased god.

"Are you laughing at my agony miss...?" The stranger enquired raising his dark teal eyebrows with a smile on his face.

"Naoko Akizuki " she replied.

" I laughed because I understood what the driver said, I know Gothenburg Swedish. I'm really sorry about that " Naoko said giving him an apologetic smile.

"It's alright. I'm Akira Shihu by the way " he said giving Naoko a handshake "I'm a friend of Syaoran and his sister wanted me to come over for the show "

" He's inside, Let's go " Naoko told him and Akira followed her in.

They walked over to Syaoran and Sakura who were still busy arguing oblivious to the two people that watched over them each having a huge sweat drop as they listened to their so called fight.

"A lover's stiff ? " Akira asked startling them with a half-smirk crossing his lips.

Syaoran looked up sharply at the voice and a huge grin spread on to his face "Akira !" he shouted and went to give him a manly pat on the shoulder.

" Long time no see Syaoran " Akira said grinning back at him.

Sakura cocked her head at the pair and shot Naoko a questioning glance.

"I'm Akira Shihu, Syaoran's best bud, went to college together " Akira said to Sakura with a smile.

"I'm Sakura Kinomoto, studied my 4th grade with this Jack ass " Sakura said pointing to Syaoran with a smirk.

"I'm not a Jack ass " Syaoran shouted going over to Sakura.

"Suuuuurre and purse is made of gold " Sakura said sarcastically.

" Well, It must be ! " Syaoran retorted.

Soon Sakura and Syaoran were fighting all over again.

"urgh, You're so...male." Sakura said in disgust remembering her typical arguments with Touya.

Syaoran smirked " So glad you noticed "

" It would be somewhat hard not to." Sakura said with an eye roll.

Syaoran had a sly smile " Interesting word choice "

Sakura glared at him. "Do you speak just to hear yourself?"

"Nooo... that's just a bonus. And come on, even you said it this morning, I'm the most Handsome and perfect guy. " Syaoran said with a grin.

" You forced me to say it " Sakura said narrowing her eyes.

"Oh please, like you didn't mean what you said. " Syaoran told her in a disbelieving tone.

" I didn't " Sakura shot back.

" Did to "

" Did not "

"Did to "

"Did not! "

By this time Akira and Naoko were beyond annoyed.

Akira sighed and shot Naoko an exasperated look "How can you stand these two?"

Naoko shrugged "I can't, that's why I tend to keep away from them " she said with a smile.

" So what do you say we go inside, I don't think I can watch this any longer " Akira muttered looking over at Sakura and Syaoran.

"Excellent decision " Naoko replied and started walking towards the mansion with Akira.

"By the way, what did the cab driver say to me back then? " Akira asked curiously.

Naoko raised an eye brow " It's not exactly complementing..." she warned.

Akira shrugged " How bad can it be..."

Naoko frowned " Ok then. He said 'You are the most disturbed bitch I ever had the misfortune to encounter' "

" WHAT ?"

Naoko stifled a laughter as Akira muttered a myriad of creative obscenities, implying that the driver had been conceived due to his mother's incestuous relationship with a goat.

"pfft, It was written all over your face, you meant every word of it. You're just in denial !" Syaoran said with a nod.

" I am not in denial !" Sakura yelled crossing her arms over her chest protectively.

Syaoran raised an eyebrow "Why do you do that? It's not like anything is in there to hide... "

Sakura scowled " Shut up Li. What do you know ?"

Syaoran gave her a roguish smile "Nothing I suppose ...Care to share ?" he said with a teasing smile.

Sakura blushed a beet red " Syaoran ! "

Syaoran's smile widened " I could inspect it, if you want some details." he said suggestively.

Before Sakura could yell again he continued his observation.

Syaoran smirked " I guess they aren't flat like I thought they'd be.." he told her his lips twitching.

" You..you..urggh!." Sakura muttered too embarrassed and angry to finish her speech.

" Having problem with words? I have a dictionary..." Syaoran said his tone filled with mirth.

Sakura seemed to regain her ability to talk properly " That was not funny " she snapped her face still burning.

Syaoran smirked " It was actually a compliment..."

" I knew they weren't flat, thank you very much " Sakura said acidly.

Syaoran rolled his eyes "Women, can't even appreciate compliments these days "

Sakura's eye twitched "What did you expect me to say ? ' Well, gee, thanks Syaoran. I, umm... grew them myself ?' " she asked sarcastically.

Syaoran chuckled "Something along those lines would've been nice.. "

Sakura narrowed her eyes " Baka hentai " she cursed him as he laughed and walked towards the mansion.

And much to Sakura's irritationSyaoran shot her feigned appreciative glances as he strolled alongside her into the mansion.

'I don't think he's feigning that look, I see it in his eyes ' Tomoyo-like-voice said cheerfully.

'Oh shut the hell up. I have no time for this ! ' Sakura thought back snidely.

'Well, aren't you in a bad mood ' the voice tutted and disappeared.

Sakura scowled ' Today's going to get worse...I just know it " she thought worriedly.

And boy, is she right.

**A/n**:- Anyway I'm seriously surprised by the amount of reviews I got, THANK YOU.

As for fluff, I say, look closely. It's been there. I love all of you that saw the subtle changes in Syao and Saku's behavior. Hopefully, I'll improve it some more. But if you have any suggestion, don't hesitate to tell me.

Thanks to: GrYfFiNdOreVer, chenocat, Krizstalstar91, animeflower, cherryblossomrox, youkaigirl64, Kawaii-Fairy-Emma, VampireJazzy, Tella, j.k, Kayapride, cho, somedayiwillwrite, Maaya Samato, Sirenic Griffin, IS2cookies, a little someone, animefreakkagome, pinaygrrl, devilish angel 4eva, midnite-goddess, Kimura, fireflower, Kitty Meow-Mix23, serenity, CHERRY, cherryxxblossom, RoCkS, cherrysakura5, my-reflection, Inuyash and Kagome for their awesome reviews.


	11. Drinking game

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS. However Syaoran Li is mine. If you don't believe me, ask him. He's currently locked inside my closet.

Chapter 11:-Drinking Game.

Sakura was sitting in the girl's hall sincerely writing her new story...

No, that wasn't right. She was watching a movie with her fellow bachelor girls and eating Doritos.

You might as well be honest, right?

" Love is a many splendor thing! Love lifts us up where we belong, all you need is love! "

Sakura munched dourly on a Dorito as she watched Ewan McGregor sing his heart out to Nicole Kidman on the small screen.

" Why can't the world be more like the world in Moulin Rouge? Why couldn't everyone sing beautifully and fall in love as sparkles fall from the sky? " Kasumi wailed dramatically.

"Why weren't all men as sweet and romantic as Ewan McGregor's character? " Ashley added sighing a bit.

" Reality doesn't work that way " Airo stated sourly.

Sakura reached into the bag for another Dorito, only to get it snatched by Kasumi.

"Sakura ! " Kasumi screeched and threw the bag in the garbage.

" How dare you ?" sheexclaimed giving her a look of total disapproval "You're stomach will get flabby if you eat junk food "

" Don't you even care about your diet ?" Airojoined in withan accusing glare.

Sakura scowled "Diet is just 'Die' with a 't' at the end. Besides whoever heard of a girl getting flabby eating one bag of dorito? "

"You should never take chances Sakura " Kasumi said exasperated.

Sakura shook her head at their craziness and went back to watching the movie.

Ewan and Nicole were kissing each other passionately.

" Must be nice. Perfect Nicole gets to kiss the hot, sweet guy who has a great voice " Ashley spat out glaring at the small screen.

"I didn't get to kiss Syaoran like that, I hope she dies in the ending " Airo added sulkily.

"Amen to that " Sakura replied sweat dropping.

Ashley giggled. "ooooh, I still can't believe we'll be interviewed by that Hunky hottey Akira though"

" He has such soft and shiny teal hair..." Kasumi said softly in a dreamy voice.

" Enticing blue-grey eyes.." Airo added with a sigh.

" Big hands..." Kourin said earning an eye roll from all the girls.

Akira is here since according to the Bachelor show one of Syaoran's friend should come and askquestions to the girls and give Syaoran the report on their personality from his P.O.V.

Sakura found out this right after she stomped inside the mansion, it seems Shiefa had told the girls while she and Naoko were outside.

Sakura sighed "First Syaoran and now, you're all fawning over his best friend. You guys are hopeless. "

" Tsk.tsk. " Kasumi tutted "Haven't you heard the saying 'Beauty should be appreciated', Sakura? "

" That's not a saying " Naoko pointed out dryly.

Kasumi ignored her " And Akira just happened to have it... _a lot_ ! " she said giggling a bit "So we should appreciate him "

"Those eyes.. they just struck my heart the moment I saw him " Ashley said softly.

"That's a lie. If it did strike her heart, she'd be dead and we wouldn't have to hear her" Sakura whispered fiercely into Naoko's ear.

Naoko laughed "My, my sarcasm has become of you Sakura "

Sakura grinned " Hang around Syaoran, you'll be an expert in no time "

Shiefa Liang strode into the hall and looked at the movie " Oh no, I missed the elephant kiss " She said in disappointment.

"You're in time for Ewan's very brief shirtless scene, though. " Ashley declared.

" Oooh, yummy. " Kourin drooled.

Shiefa smiled at them "By the way, the interview starts in fifteen minutes, get ready " she said and went out.

Soon all the girls except for Naoko and Sakura were getting into a frenzy.

"Oh my gosh, I wonder what he'll write about my personality " Ashley pondered aloud. She then went off to get refreshed, more like re-make up, along with the other girls.

Sakura smirked "Her personality ? It's not that hard to figure out, just take a look at her dress! "

"What would you call that, _shirt_ ?" Naoko mused.

Sakura smiled " Try low-cut tube top, that's more fitting "

Naoko laughed "I have no idea how you can share a room with her Sakura"

"Believe me it's hell. Every time she's like 'Sakura you have seen my shirt?' or 'OMG, I _so_ did not put my lipstick there, have you been taking my stuff ?' she's too unbearable " Sakura said sulking.

A little later, all the girls came back and started chatting about the show.

"I wonder which one of us will get Syaoran at the end .." Kourin pondered aloud.

Airo sighed "It could be be anyone. You, me, Kasumi, Naoko or even Sakura. Well, probably not Sakura (and she gave Sakura a quick flash of teeth) but you know what I mean. "

The four girls giggled "So it's going to be among the five of us "

Sakura swallowed to keep her temper in check. They were right; she wasn't going to be The One he picked to marry or whatever, but they could at least include her...

Before Sakura could stop herself, she said the dratted words. " Remember girls? I'm playing hard-to-get? "

" Oh, so you really were! " Kasumi yelled and all of the girls squealed joyfully. "You sly devil you ! "

Sakura wanted to hit her head against the wall. ' Out of all the things I could have said, I just had to say _that_ one' she thought ruefully.

**OoOoOoOoO**

All the bachelor girls went downstairs and sat around the couches each waiting for their turn in the interview.

Akira showed up wearing a sweat shirt and jeans. "Hi, How you doin? " he said with a wink.

The girls swooned except Sakura and Naoko who merely raised an eye brow at him.

Akira grinned at them sheepishly "The first one is...Airo "

Airo got up and left the room with Akira .

" What kind of questions do you think he'll ask? " Kasumi asked worriedly.

" Oh, probably stuff like, kids and where you want to live, and careers " Ashley assured her.

Kasumi's brows furrowed but she nodded.

Twenty minutes later (Kourin was timing) Airo came back, smiling widely.

"Akira said that Syaoran picked the questions. They're really good. I aced it! " she said happily.

Akira stuck his head in the door and called Kasumi , who hurriedly followed him, looking a bit anxious.

To spend the time, Sakura took out a book and began to read it, trying her best to avoid listening to the gossip the girls were talking.

Topics ranged from fashion, accessorizing, Syaoran, Akira and fat-free food.

"Did you know that Mc.Donald's are going in for diet foods? Imagine, no more oily french fries or that cheesy burger ! "

" Really? "

"Yeah, They're going to sell food that have calories and no fat at all "

" Ew, they'll taste terrible then. "

" No! My cousin works there and he said they will actually be quite good. "

"Oooh, then I'll try them out sometime. I heard that Pamela Anderson is smitten over a guy called Jason! "

" No way! You think they'll get married? "

"I don't know, even if they did how long do you think it'll last?"

"I bet it'll last longer than Britney Spear's 56 hour wedding though "

Somewhere between Britney's second marriage and her being pregnant, Sakura tuned out. When she tuned back in, she realized that Kasumi was back and Ashley was gone.

Kasumi was sparkling with joy as she came back in. "It was wonderful. I'm sure he was impressed "

Soon Naoko was gone and it took her a longer time than anybody else to come back. And when she did , Naoko had a slight pink in her cheeks.

" It's your turn Sakura " Naoko said and joined the girls.

Sakura nodded and followed Akira inside the question-room as the girls called it.

Akira sat on a couch opposite to Sakura and took some papers. " Syaoran said he had _special_ questions for you. Should we start with that? "

Sakura frowned and shrugged.

" Okay then. If by some unfortunatetwisted fate you and Syaoran were stuck in a boat in the middle of the sea. What will you do ? "

Sakura laughed " I'll feed him to the poor hungry sharks of course ! "

However, that was the only question that Sakura really appreciated out of the rest of them. Obviously, Syaoran wanted to piss her off .

"Are you a virgin?"

Sakura head snapped up and she narrowed her eyes " Yes " she said testily.

Akira grinned at the next question "Where would you prefer to have sex? On the beach or in the bed? "

Sakura blushed, " Erm, bed, " she finally said, her face turning various shades of tomato.

Akira laughed " Syaoran feels the same way, said the beach can be a bit uncomfortable "

Sakura wanted to burn the papers on which the questions were written.

Akira kept smiling " How many times a day would you have sex? "

Sakura pursed her lips. " I'm not going to answer that. "

Akira shrugged. " Fine, moving on. How many kids do you want? "

Sakura relaxed. Finally a question she could answer. " I'm not a big family person, so I suppose maybe one. Maximum two "

"What are your turn on's ?"

Sakura growled and ripped the paper apart. " I'm going to kill Syaoran. _Painfully and slowly_ " she said angrily

Akira laughed " This interview is over then, see you later Sakura "

Sakura nodded and rushed out of the room her hands itching to strangle a certain messy haired bachelor.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Sakura went inside the girls hall seething with anger.

Naoko took one look at her and rolled her eyes. Here we go again she thought sourly.

" I hope he dies a horrible and painful death ! " Sakura yelled pacing around the room.

" I think she is talking about Syaoran " Kasumi mused loudly.

Naoko shot her a dry look " Really? I would've never guessed.. "

" I bet he made Akira ask some stupid question " Kasumi said " So I suppose now she's insulted?"

" Naturally " Naoko retorted before Sakura had a chance to answer.

"She's very predictable," Kasumi confided to Naoko in a loud whisper.

" Very," Naoko agreed, nodding.

"She has a temper to boot, too." Kasumi stated.

" She must fly into a rage about five times a day," Naoko murmured, her expression very serious indeed.

" Such a pity," Kasumi said with a theatric sigh.

" Would you two stop talking about me like I'm not even here!" Sakura demanded in an overly loud voice.

Naoko winced. "Good volume, though," she commented rather cheerfully.

Sakura smacked her hand sharply against her forehead.

"Ouch," Kasumi said without even twitching an eye.

Sakura groaned "You guys aren't helping !"

" Have we ever ?" Kasumi asked raising an eyebrow.

Sakura scowled "I guess not ."

" There you go. " Naoko said in soothing voice " You finally found the reason ".

" Why did I even come here? I should be out there getting revenge on Syaoran " she wondered aloud.

Naoko shrugged " Beats me. Maybe you're just stupid. "

" And maybe you guys are being a grouchy git " Sakura retorted. "Anyway, I'm off to get my revenge !"

"May the force be with you ! " Kasumi said earning a laugh from Naoko and an indignant cry from Sakura who went out.

**OoOoOoOoO**

' Where is that dweeb? ' Sakura thought to herself and then found Syaoran sitting in the main hall of the mansion.

" You ! " Sakura cried and came over towards him.

Syaoran cocked his head to the side and gave her a questioning look.

" You!" Sakura said again.

Syaoran smirked "I have a name, you know. "

"You !" Sakura said yet again.

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "Yes, me. I thought you were supposed to be smart?" he said raising an eyebrow.

" How could you write those questions for the interview ? You ..you..." Sakura seemed unable to speak.

Syaoran grinned, and quickly flicked her on the chin. Sakura's cheeks immediately grew hot, and her eyes shone with indignation.

"What was that for!" she screeched.

Syaoran chuckled " I was just trying to help your mouth get moving," he said innocently. "It obviously worked. You should thank me."

Sakura made as if to whack him with her hand, but Syaoran, having excellent martial art skills , dodged it.

"You ought to work on your reflexes," he told her gravely.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Sakura shrieked.

" I'm not," Syaoran informed her. "It was only a suggestion."

This time, she kicked. Syaoran jumped back, out of range.

" You missed," he pointed out smirking at her.

"I know that!"

" I was only informing you that your foot didn't make contact with my shin," Syaoran said seriously and continued.

"I'm really the only person, after all, who can tell you for sure whether or not you actually managed to touch my shin with your f -"

"SHUT UP!"

Syaoran winced and put a hand to his ear "Good vocal range."

With a final shriek of fury Sakura stomped on his foot the way she always did to her brother ,Touya, and ran laughing as she heard the many curses from Syaoran.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Sakura went inside the girls hall her smile intact and found Naoko and Kasumi sitting there. Kasumi was putting on her make up for maybe the 10th time that day.

" Glad you're back Sakura. We were bored without you," Kasumi said bluntly, still gazing at her reflection.

Sakura put a hand mockingly over her heart. "Aww," she simpered. "I'm touched."

Kasumi snapped her compact shut, and rolled her mascaraed eyes.

" Geek " Naoko accused.

Sakura grinned. " How'd ya guess?" she asked.

" Fairly easily," Kasumi replied, her tone dry. "After all, you have 'loser' written right across your forehead."

Sakura laughed " Drats, it gave away huh? "

Naoko raised an eyebrow "You look awfully happy. Let me guess your revenge was a success ?"

Sakura smirked " I gave him a good stomp in the feet. oh you should've seen it, the stupid jerk was so much in pain "

Kasumi frowned "Don't talk about Syaoran like that! He's not so bad .. " she told trying to sound reasonable.

"Of course not " Sakura agreed causing Naoko and Kasumi to stare at her their jaws dropped.

Sakura smirked at them " He's only a little nuts !" she said and her two friends shot her annoyed looks.

"Can we go out. I'm getting a little claustrophobic in here " Naoko exclaimed with frustration.

Kasumi shook her head "Sorry, I can't. I have a facial pack to make with Airo, you guys go ahead "

Sakura nodded and she followed Naoko outside to the lawns.

Naoko took a deep breath "It feels good to be outside.." she said sighing happily.

Before Sakura could reply she saw Syaoran and Akira standing near the door whispering something and laughing loudly.

Naoko turned around and gave them a questioning look. They continued to whisper pointing at the girls.

Sakura scowled " What! Do we have something on our face? " she asked aloud.

That caused them to laugh harder, and Sakura clenched her fists " Hey! Tell me what's so funny? "

Akira was the first to compose himself. He walked over to Naoko and startled her by taking both her hands in his.

"A-Akira ! What are you doing! " Naoko stuttered.

"Naoko..."

" Wh-what? Why are you looking at me like that? "

Akira's face split into a grin and Naoko took a step back. " Are you a kleptomaniac, or did you steal my heart on purpose? "

" Wh-what! Akira ! " Naoko cried her cheeks reddening.

Sakura watched in horror as Syaoran came over to her, eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Don't you dare tell me one of those pick up lines.." Sakura threatened taking a step back.

"Actually I have a question for you " Syaoran said innocently.

"What is it?"

"Will you bear my child ? " Syaoran asked trying to look serious but failing miserably.

" Syaoran!" Sakura yelled out of embarrassment.

Syaoran laughed and jumped back, just in time to dodge a fist that was aimed at his stomach.

Akira smiled at this and faced the blushing Naoko again " I have a question for you too "

" If you ask me to bear your children.." Naoko warned.

" I have more class than that. " Akira grinned. " Hey, Naoko. Do you sleep on your stomach? "

Naoko looked at him skeptically. "No. Why? "

" Can I? "

" AKIRA ! "

" Oi, Akira !" Syaoran called, starting to laugh again." They're gunna blow! "

Akira snickered and turned around, running quickly, Syaoran right at his ankles.

Now, would you let someone get away with something like that? That's right you won't. So Naoko and Sakura chased them, yelling obscenities at their bare backs.

Syaoran looked over his shoulder at Sakura, nearly doubling over from laughing. " Hey, Sakura ? "

" What ?"

" Are those _reeeal _? "

"SYAORAAAAAN ! "

And so the chasing continued, but the boys were too fast and hence Sakura and Naoko couldn't catch them. They now sat on the snow out of breath.

"I'm going to kill that Akira " Naoko said gasping for breath.

"Syaoran will perish along with him " Sakura said snidely and dropped her head back in the snow in tiredness.

"We should go back in.." Naoko stated.

"Yeah, I'm getting up right now..." Sakura said although she made no moves to get up.

"Me too, any second now..." Naoko said placing her head in a lump of snow "any second now..."

**OoOoOoOoO**

1 hour, 30 minutes and 20 seconds later...

"C-Can't b-believe i-it took us t-this long " Naoko said her teeth chattering as she and Sakura made their way up the stairs.

"W-we would've f-frozen to death, I-I'll kill t-that b-bastard " Sakura replied.

As they entered Kasumi rushed towards them "Oh my god! What were you doing outside! Your lips are blue !"

Naoko and Sakura shot her a glare too peeved to reply.

"Hey give them some wine! They'll warm up " Airo said from the couch.

Kasumi nodded and came back with 2 bottles which Sakura and Naoko accepted gratefully.

"You know while we're at it, let's play a drinking game! " Ashley said gleefully.

All the girls nodded. " Then it's settled " Ashley said firmly. " Let the games begin! "

" Have you ever played a drinking game before, Sakura ?" Airo asked her.

Sakura shook her head.

"Ok " Kasumi said a couple of minutes later, after they'd settled down. " Should I explain the rules? "

Naoko and Airo shrugged, and Kasumi took that as a 'yes'.

"It's simple " she said. " We go around in a circle and take turns saying something you've never done before, like... ' I've never puked on a roller coaster. ' And if anyone else in the group has done it, then they have to take a drink. Got it? "

" I'll go first. " Ashley paused for a minute, then said, her eyes glittering: " I've never watched porn "

There was a pause. Then, blushing hotly, Sakura took a sip of her wine and so did Kourin. Though no one was surprised at Kourin they all gawked at Sakura.

"And we all thought you were naive and innocent ! " Kasumi chortled.

Sakura glared at her "It was my brothers ! I put it on by mistake"

" It's okay, Sakura " Kourin giggled " I completely understand. "

The tip of Sakura's ears let off steam.

" My turn. " Sakura stared into her glass for a moment, then said " I've never gone to third base with anyone. "

Kourin, Ashley and Airo took a gulp of wine.

Naoko rolled her eyes at the girls, then said softly: "I've never shoplifted."

Sakura took another big gulp of wine to everyone's surprise. "I was seven " she explained at their questioning look. " I didn't know any better. "

"Riiight "Kourin snorted. Sakura made a face at her.

It was Airo's turn.She scratched her head to come up with something.

" I have...um...never failed a test ! "she finally exclaimed with a smile.

Sakura, Ashley and Kourin sent her disgusted looks before taking drinks. Airo stared sheepishly into her lap.

And on it went, with Sakura taking bigger gulps each time, and the other girls, except Naoko who didn't drink much, beginning to sway on their seats.

The bottle now empty, Kasumi poured the remnants of her wine into her mouth, and hiccupped.

" No more - hic- no more " she muttered, peering blearily into her glass.

Sakura held out her half-full glass, a lopsided smile on her lips. " Have shome o' mine. "

" Why, thankee " Kasumi beamed ecstatically at her, then drained the offered glass in one big gulp.

" Oopsh " she slurred, staring down at the empty glass in her hand. " Me dranksh it all. "

" I have enogh, I don't feel sho...sho good." As though to prove her words, Sakura's shoulders heaved, and clamping a hand over her mouth, she staggered out

Naoko sighed watching all this and then a brilliant plan struck her. She walked over to Sakura's room and came back with Syaoran's jacket.

" Hey Sakura, why don't you go and give it back to him ? " Naoko asked smiling at Sakura as she came back from the bathroom.

Sakura nodded too drunk to think about what may come out of this little escapade Naoko put her in. She grabbed the jacket and went down the stairs.

Sakura managed to get outside and to her favorite spot in the mansion. She saw a figure standing there and knew it was Syaoran.

" I brought your jacket Syaoran " Sakura said slurring a bit.

Syaoran raised an eye brow at her "You're drunk" he stated bluntly.

Sakura smiled "Ofcourse not. " she said coming towards him but she stumbled on a rock.

Syaoran grabbed her from falling down and looked at her frowning "You're definitely drunk "

Sakura giggled and to Syaoran's surprise she leaned her head on his shoulder.

Sakura snuggled closer causing his cheek to redden slightly " you smell like peppermint..." she whispered after a few moments of silence.

Syaoran smiled slightly and hesitantly put his arms around her.

" I brushed my teeth " she informed him suddenly. Syaoran blinked, then laughed. She was like a child.

" I didn't like the taste of vomit " she explained, her eyes growing distant. " But now I can't taste it at all. "

" That's good " Syaoran said in a patronising voice "Let's get you inside, before you embarrass yourself even more" he added.

"You wanna see? "

" See what? "

" I can prove it to you " Sakura whispered, staring up at him. "I can prove I brushed my teeth. Kiss me Syaoran."

A/n:- Thanks to :-cherrysakura5, CherryBlossom02, candy-chan-chan, a little someone, Kimura, chinita92, Inkirietta, Hannah Abby, chenocat, Krizstalstar91, animeflower, midnite-goddess, Kayapride, pinaygrrl, RoCkS, Kitty Meow-Mix23, Tella, youkaigirl64, ccsluva, VampireJazzy, Koharu Mitsuki, ForevernAlwayz and Unknown for their awesome reviews.


	12. Horse Riding

**Disclaimer**:- I don't own CCS. Well...my head's saying I don't, but my heart says I do. Which should I believe?

Previously:-

" I can prove it to you " Sakura whispered, staring up at him. "I can prove I brushed my teeth. Kiss me Syaoran."

Chapter 12:- Horse riding.

She gazed up into his eyes, a smile playing around her lips. He gazed down at her, his hair falling across his forehead, his eyes twinkling with knowing mischievousness.

She was playing hard to get, and he knew it. So what did he do? He stooped down so his lips could better meet hers, his eyes lingering on her uplifted face...

" NOO.. Stop it ! " Kasumi said in outrage, looking at the scene before her.

" Shut up ! " Naoko cried " I'm trying to watch! "

" He's an idiot! " Kasumi hollered. " Why the hell would she let him kiss her! "

" Because he's handsome, fascinating and sexy and she's lonely! " Airo shouted.

Kasumi then chucked a pillow at the screen, momentarily obscuring Hugh Grant's smoldering eyes.

"But what about the tall, stuffy barrister? " Kasumi whined, now glaring at the lip-locked couple in the T.V.

"Kasumi, you said you've seen this movie about five million times. You know she ends up with the stuffy barrister " Airo said through clenched teeth.

"I didn't know that.. " Naoko muttered sulkily. They ignored her.

"Oh no, oh no, the Shagging Scene! " Kasumi screeched, covering her eyes.

" I prefer to call it the Giant Underwear Scene, " Ashley said giggling. "GUS for short "

" Oooh, ooh! " Kourin shrieked suddenly. " Colin Firth! Colin Firth! "

The girls all lunged back to the television, their eyes glued to the screen.

Naoko sighed " Can't believe you're the same people who were drunk to the core yesterday... "

Airo shrugged " We're all used to drinking...can't say the same for Sakura though. Is she even gonna wake up?"

"Yeah, it's afternoon for the love of god ! " Kasumi said shaking her head.

"Maybe she slipped into a coma or something..." Airo stated frowning.

"A poisonous bug may have bitten her and now...she's gone to sleep forever " Ashley exclaimed.

"Or she's having a horny dream and doesn't feel the need to wake up. It happens to me loads of time " Kourin said giggling.

Naoko looked at them in disgust " I highly doubt it ."

Soon the girls were having a heated argument on the various reasons for Sakura's sleep, none of them sounding intelligent or realistic in Naoko's opinion.

Back inside the room...

Sakura woke up to the feeling of an axe protruding from her head, as though someone had tried to kill her in sleep but somehow botched up the job.

Moaning, she tried to open her eyes bit by bit but the light proved painful even in small doses.

'What just happened ?' Sakura thought wincing from the pain that seeped through her head.

She screwed up her face, trying to remember. ' I was playing a drinking game... something about Syaoran...and..'

' Oh my God. '

Sakura let out a loud yelp and sat up suddenly. She placed both hands over her mouth, her heart thundering in her chest.

' What did I do with him? Why was I with him in the first place ? ' Sakura pondered and all these thoughts were making her headache ten times worse.

Naoko and Kasumi came barging inside.

"Sakura, we heard you scream, what happened?" Kasumi screeched.

Sakura winced and covered her ears " Not so loud !" she snapped and then felt guilty as she saw the hurtin Kasumi's eyes.

Sakura sighed "I'm really sorry...I just...um, I had a bad nightmare...that's all "

Kasumi nodded but Naoko wasn't buying it.

"Are you ok though ?" Naoko asked "You look very pale "

"Ignoring the fact that my head feels like it's being stomped, cut, smashed, beaten, drilled and nailed with a hammer, I'd say I'm quite well. " Sakura joked.

Kasumi smiled at her and went over to the curtains, yanking it fully to allow the bright sun-rays to enter.

Sakura screamed and covered her eyes, shouting that she had gone blind.

"Oh, quit being such a drama queen " Kasumi said " That's _my_ job! It's just a little hangover and besides, sitting in the dark sounds so morbid. "

" I'm trying to get in touch with my Inner Self you see.." Sakura said blinking out the spots in front of her eyes.

Kasumi laughed " Now there's the Sakura we know, You're ok ! "

"Yup, just peachy-fine..." Sakura lied, forcing herself to smile.

Naoko winced. "Stop it, that looks really painful."

Sakura just rolled her eyes " I'm going to take a bath.. I'll see you guys soon"

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Sakura refreshed herself and had her lunch an hour ago. She still wasn't feeling very well.

Yes, the hangover had lessened somewhat, but she was still far from her usual physical best. The idea of going outside (especially with that blasted sun insisting on shining everywhere) was, frankly, nauseating...

But she desperately needed some fresh air, and she didn't have the strength to be cooped up with these mad girls any longer. Sure Naoko was there, but it's a four giggling-loony-girls against one sane person...

Everyone should know the odds of this. So now here she was lying spread-eagle fashion on the back lawn, her eyes firmly shut to the sun's rays.

Sakura let her mind ponder about last night's _' incident '_ or was it lack of incident?

Naoko seemed particularly jittery and switched topics whenever Sakura enquired on the details after the drinking game.

If that stroke her as odd, then it was nothing compared to the smiles Shiefa kept shooting her when she had gone to take lunch.

_And_ to top it off, Syaoran seemed to have disappeared. The girls had informed Sakura that he wasn't even seen during breakfast.

Normally Sakura would've did a happy dance with confetti's flying, on hearing the news of him gone missing, but today was an exception.

Her mind was a total blur and only bits and vague memories were there from last night...none of which made sense to her.

' I hope I didn't say something very stupid ' she thought sulkily.

Well, whatever the case was, Sakura felt that something had happened between herself and Syaoran...or had it?

' Oh, screw it ' Sakura clutched two handfuls of grass and gritted her teeth.

' Note to self :- Don't forget about possible kisses.'

"Are you doing some lawn-work? Then you might want to start off with your head, I can see more weeds and grasses sprouting from your brain than on the ground." a teasing voice said .

Sakura let loose a scream that made a few of the evening birds scatter away in fright. Heart hammering like you wouldn't believe, she looked up into the startlingly amused eyes of Syaoran.

" High-strung, aren't we? " Syaoran said dryly.

"You...You...You..." Sakura's mouth seemed unable to move properly. ' Had she possibly lost control of her body? Was she paralyzed? '

"Always having problem with the 'you' word... Is this some kind of a weird neurotic disease? " Syaoran looked even more amused now.

Sakura gulped, and managed to regain marginal control of her tongue. "You scared me. "

" Obviously. " Syaoran grinned, looking very proud of himself. That aggravated Sakura, enough so that she regained full control.

" Don't sneak up on people like that! " she snapped.

" I didn't sneak." Syaoran stated indignantly " I approached you in a very unsneaky way. "

Sakura pursed her lips and satisfied herself by glaring up at Syaoran.

Syaoran staggered theatrically backwards, his hand over his heart as though he'd been shot.

"Why must you torture me so? " he asked in an appropriately husky voice that, for some reason, caused her to shiver. " Do you not know the power your eyes have over my soul? "

" Jerk " Sakura accused, her mouth twitching. Syaoran flashed her a grin.

" And proud of it. "

" Syaoran ? "

" Yeah? "

"Nothing...happened...last night, did it? "

Syaoran looked very uncomfortable " Why do you ask? ".

"Oh...no reason. " Sakura was treading softly, anxious not to embarrass herself. " Just wondering. That's all "

" Well, you came to give my coat and passed away stumbling on a rock..." Syaoran lied.

Sakura frowned "You mean I didn't do anything stupid?"

"You got drunk, and fainted by tripping, that's sounds stupid doesn't it ? "

Sakura gave out a nervous laugh " I suppose...but how did I get back in ? You said I passed out.."

" I carried you in " Syaoran told her.

" Oh, um...thanks " Sakura said awkwardly.

"No problem, but maybe you should lay off the food...you were a bit too heavy " Syaoran teased and Sakura rolled her eyes at him.

" So nothing happened that I might regret ? " Sakura asked still a bit apprehensive.

Syaoran looked away his cheeks coloring "Yeah, nothing you might..._regret_ " he said.

" Oh, I see. " Something heavy settled in Sakura's stomach. It couldn't be disappointment, could it ?

Syaoran sat down beside her " What were you doing out here, all by yourself? "

" Breathing," Sakura told him with an impish grin.

Syaoran rolled his eyes " Very funny," he retorted. " Now tell me the truth, what were you really doing?"

Sakura scowled " I was breathing. "

Syaoran merely raised an eyebrow " I suppose the air here is much lighter and pleasant..."

Sakura blinked.

" Try it," he urged.

Sakura hesitated, looking up at him with suspicious eyes. Syaoran smiled at her encouragingly.

She turned away from him, and rather awkwardly drew in a deep breath.

" There now," Syaoran said, laughing. "Don't you feel much better?"

"Are you teasing me?" she snapped, trying to cover up her embarrassment.

Syaoran raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. " I would never do that " he replied, trying to look serious.

Sakura rolled her eyes." Liar," she accused with a small half-smile, slapping him lightly on the arm.

"You wound me, " he said dramatically, clutching his arm. "I would've never thought a lady would do such a thing!"

" I'm no lady," Sakura retorted, her eyes shimmering with held-back laughter.

"Yeah, you're right. You're too coarse and rude to be one " he teased, dancing out of arm's reach.

Sakura was just about to reply when two figures strode across the lawn towards them, calling loudly: "Sakura! Syaoran! "

Akira and Naoko reached them looking thoroughly tired.

"What are you doing out here ?" Naoko asked, her eyes flickering curiously to Syaoran.

" She's breathing." Syaoran answered for her with a grin .

" That's no surprise," Akira remarked dryly "Well, Shiefa is calling, she wants to tell all the girls about the next date "

Sakura face paled "Another date? Oh come on, isn't there anything else to do in this show other than going on dates ? "

Naoko nodded " It is pretty pathetic isn't it ? But there's no way around this i guess " she said.

Syaoran gave them an annoyed look "I have to go with every one of those girls in there, how do you think I feel about all this? "

Sakura gave him a smirk " Yeah, sucks to be you " she said and walked off with Naoko leaving Syaoran to seethe.

" She has a point you know " Akira said smiling down at Syaoran's expression.

Syaoran frowned and let out a sigh of defeat " I know ".

**OoOoOoOoO**

"I still can't remember a thing from yesterday..." Sakura complained to Naoko as they sat together on the couch.

"Maybe you should try hitting your head... " Kasumi suggested.

" How will that help?" Naoko asked in confusion.

"Well, it works in the movies! The girl gets amnesia, blah blah, then hits her head and gains her memory back.. you know the drill " Kasumi said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Naoko sweatdropped " I'd hate to imagine what you'll do if a person drowns.."

Ashley grinned " It won't be a problem for me, I'm trained to perform C.P.R. " she said proudly.

Kasumi raised an eyebrow " Really ?"

Ashley nodded " My C.P.R. teacher was so impressed that she said it would be a miracle if I ever became a doctor. "

" I think that might be considered a bad thing..." Naoko muttered. Ashley ignored her.

Frowning, Naoko looked at Sakura who seemed to be in a world of her own. Kasumi noticed it too.

" Hopeless, " Naoko muttered to herself.

Kasumi nodded and reaching over yanked at Sakura's ear.

" Ow! " Her head shot up, one hand cradling the insulted lobe. " What was that for? ".

" When people are hysterical, you slap them " Kasumi replied cheerfully. " When people are lovesick, you tug on their ears. "

"I've never heard that before " Sakura said, rubbing at her reddened ear.

Kasumi beamed. " Of course not. I just made it up. "

Sakura groaned ' What did do to deserve this.. ' she thought and then scowled " I'm not lovesick !" she snapped.

Kasumi giggled "You were daydreaming ! Obviously you were thinking about Syaoran."

"I was not-" Sakura never got to finish her sentence for the girls had all let loose excited and high pitched squeals.

Yup, another steaming hot date box has arrived.

Shiefa had informed them that three lucky girls would get one-on-one dates this time, and the first date box would inform exactly who got it.

"Open it! Open it!" Ashley squealed.

Kasumi opened the box and grinned as she read the name " The date goes to Sakura and they'll visit the Shikkan town by... Horses riding "

Sakura stiffened " Horse riding ?" she asked in eerie calm voice.

Kasumi nodded hesitantly "Yeah... that's what it says here " she said pointing at the paper.

Sakura gritted her teeth and went to her room to get dressed for the date.

Perhaps, if she had stayed behind she would've witnessed the many death glares that were being shot at her by the girls.

**OoOoOoOoO**

" Whose lame-brain idea was it to go horse ride, in the middle of the friggin winter ? " Sakura growled as she came towards the limo adjusting her black coat.

Syaoran raised an eye brow at her " Don't look at me, I'm not running this show "

Sakura gave him a scowl that could've melted rocks "Why the heck did you choose me! Can't you take the other girls, they'd be more than happy to go with you !"

Syaoran smirked " I could've. But if I have to suffer, then you will too. Misery deserves company. "

" That was very Zen of you,Li " Sakura said scathingly as she got inside the car.

" Damn right I'm Zen " Syaoran retorted sitting opposite to her " I am completely one with myself, and all that. "

Sakura laughed. It surprised her how Syaoran could drive her up the wall one second and manage to make her laugh in the next one.

"Are you always so full of yourself ?"

Syaoran shot her a grin " For the most part, Yes ."

They both lapsed into silence, a very comfortable one though, only broken by Sakura's sigh every ten seconds.

" Sakura, can you stop sighing, It's annoying " Syaoran said " If there's something bothering you, then just say it "

"You'll think it's silly. " Sakura said timidly.

"Since when have I thought anything you said resembled intelligence? " Syaoran said, giving his usual smirk.

Sakura scowled "Well, this is even sillier. But you must promise not to laugh. " she said sternly.

"What? I'm not allowed to mock you? " Syaoran paused, he pretended to be in deep thought. "I'm not sure I'm physically able to do that. "

Sakura gave him a poisonous look.

"Ok, I won't laugh. Now then, what is this secret that is causing you such deep pain and agony ? Just let it out, you will feel much better... " Syaoran said faking concern.

"Quit imitating Operah ! " Sakura snapped " I'm trying to tell you that I can't ri-"

She would have continued but the car came to a halt "We are here, already ?" she said in a astonished voice.

" It's not like they'd set up a date in the other side of the country, you know. " Syaoran said rolling his eyes.

Sakura hesitantly followed Syaoran out of the car and saw two people waiting for them. A lady and a man.

The woman looked old enough to be King Tut's grand mummy and the man was middle aged.

"I'm Jin Hou and this is my son Liu, we're care takers of this stable " the woman said in a kind voice.

The man went inside the stable and came back with two saddled horses.

Sakura eyed their arrival with acute mistrust and a feeling of dread rising in the pit of her stomach.

" Uh, I suppose these guys are for us to ride, huh? " she said weakly, gesturing to the fidgeting horses.

"No of-course not. They're just here to welcome us. Say hello... " Syaoran stated sarcastically.

The woman seeing Sakura's uneasy expression asked " Is something wrong ? "

"No, I'm fine really. It's just, see, the thing is, I can't ride a horse " Sakura admitted nervously, eyeing the fidgeting animal warily.

Syaoran blinked at her. "What do you mean, you can't ride a horse? "

Sakura shrugged. " Just what it sounds like. I can't ride a horse " she repeated.

Syaoran and the woman looked at each other. " Have you ever tried?" the woman asked curiously.

" I did once " Sakura replied grudgingly. " When I was five years old, my dad and brother took me to visit a horse farm, and my dad thought it would be lots of fun to stick me on top of one to take pictures. "

"The horse was at least eighteen feet high, and had teeth the size of my hand. And apparently, it can smell fear. Soon as my dad stuck me on it's back, it turned around and tried to take my head off ! Would havegot it too, if I hadn't fallen off the other side. "

" I swear it must've taken me two minutes just to hit the ground. Broke my left arm and bruised my tailbone so badly I couldn't sit right for a week, and I haven't been near a horse since... "

Syaoran snorted " You're exaggerating. There's no such thing as an eighteen foot high horse " he scoffed.

" There is to a five year old " Sakura retorted.

"We can teach her a few basics in riding ..." the woman suggested.

" No way! " Sakura yelped." No. Nada. Nein! No, no, no! "

" No? " Syaoran grinned and raised an eyebrow.

" I'm sorry, should I rephrase? Okay. ' Not a snowball's chance in hell! ' There, do you understand that? " Sakura taunted. " Besides, it'll take too much time. "

The woman sighed " She's right ."

"At any rate, I can't ride a horse. So I'll just have to go in the Limo then. " Sakura said happily.

"No cars can go inside, you see there isn't a proper path to enter the village. " the middle aged man told her.

The woman nodded " I suppose there's no help for it " she said, looking suspiciously cheerful.

" If you can't ride a horse on your own, and we have no time to teach her, I suppose it's only logical that you have to share the horse with the young man " the woman pointed to Syaoran.

"We have to _share_ a horse?" Sakura inquired in shock. "Sorry, I'll walk, thanks " she said coolly.

"Well, aren't we Miss High and Mighty!" Syaoran snapped.

" This is the only other option. So you'll have to accustom your tender sensibilities to being close to me or I'll throw you across the saddle. "

" I'll come walking !" Sakura yelled at him.

" It's a long way child " the woman told her in a pacifying voice.

" So? Didn't you hear me? " Sakura cried. " I said I'm not gonna riiieeeyyy " Her complaint ended on a squeal as the middle aged man grabbed her waist and lifted her onto the back of the horse.

" Hey! " Sakura yelped indignantly as the man stepped back with a laugh. Her shout startled the stallion, who jumped a bit and shifted uneasily.

Sakura yelped again and struggled to maintain her balance by gripping the horse's white mane, before Syaoran swung into the saddle smoothly behind her.

He calmed the nervous horse with practiced ease, then gave Sakura an arrogant grin when she turned to glare at him.

" It's no so bad now is it? " he asked her.

" Oh, you're just loving this, aren't you? Just, don't make me fall ok. " Sakura grumbled.

" I'll think about it.." Syaoran replied laughing at her panicked face

" Enjoy the ride !" the old woman and the man said happily waving at them.

Syaoran's arms came around Sakura to grip the reigns, he flicked it to urge the horse forward. Then in no time at all the image of the two waving people became distant.

And they were making their way through the snowy lanes toward the Shikkan town.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Sakura felt Syaoran staring at her head again. It made her feel very...vulnerable somehow.

An uncomfortable heat creep up Sakura's neck.

Syaoran caught sight of her glowing neck, and grinned. Slowly, he leaned forward, and blew softly on the back of her neck.

Sakura felt it, of course and shivered involuntarily. Becoming even redder than before, she turned her head and glared at him.

Syaoran looked innocently at her.

"Stop it !" she snapped.

"Stop what?"

"Blowing on my neck!"

"I wasn't blowing on your neck. Why would you think I'd do something like that?"

Thoroughly exasperated, Sakura turned away. Syaoran leaned forward, fully intent on blowing again. That was when Sakura decided to turn her head around, smacking his eye with her hair.

" Stop it ! "

Syaoran massaged his wounded eye. But he didn't mind. All heroes wear their battle scars proudly.

" I wasn't doing anything," he protested.

" I caught you !"

"You caught me doing what? "

" Blowing on my neck !"

" I wasn't blowing on your neck. I was leaning forward. You never caught me blowing on your neck."

"Ah - ha!" Sakura jabbed a triumphant finger into his chest. "So you admit it! You were blowing on my neck!"

" I never said that," Syaoran replied calmly, lowering his hand and revealing a slightly red eye.

"I just explained that even though you believe I was blowing on your neck, you don't actually have any valid reason to think so, since all you caught me doing was leaning forward. I'm afraid, Sakura, that yours is a hopeless case."

Sakura stared at him helplessly, then exploded: "You're impossible!"

" Yes, I am," Syaoran admitted with a sudden boyish grin. "But that's just part of my irresistible charm."

Sakura blinked in surprise. Then she quite abruptly burst out laughing.

"You're such an idiot " Sakura said her shoulders shaking with merriment.

"How could you be so cruel?" Syaoran said in mock offense "After everything I've done for you!"

"And what, exactly, have you done for me?" Sakura asked in amusement.

Syaoran stared at her with wide-eyed innocence." Why, I was born, of course! Isn't that enough?"

Sakura laughed again " I suppose it is " she said still giggling, unaware of the soft smile playing around Syaoran's lips.

**A/n:- **Thanks to :-candy-chan-chan, pinaygrrl, a little someone, midnite-goddess, Break away, IS2Cookies, Kamosudicles, Rebeca ,MoodiBunni, Inkirietta ,kriztalstar91, Daisuke-fan-gurl, AfGhAnCuTiE, sakK, Pinaygrrl, woLfiie-chan, Kimura, neutralgal , SakuraKino, ChryBlsms, youkaigirl64, Kitty Meow-Mix23, Cheerful-Cherry, Serenity Melody, VampireJazzy, PnkSaKuRaSyAoRaNS2, Kawaii-Fairy-Emma, Kayapride, mystiekaye, Realist, Hope's Light, hopeluv-chan and mokano for their wonderful reviews.


	13. Star Gazing Festival

**Disclaimer**: If I owned it, everyone in CCS will probably be Britons. Or Mexican. Mexicans are sexy. So are Italians and Americans. And Spaniards, while I'm at it. Swedish people are gorgeous as well. Oh heck, people are sexy.

Especially sexy people:- VampireJazzy, kriztalstar91, a little someone , candy-chan-chan, Tella, Inkirietta, SakK, iloveanime8, LadyAkina, Isy, CherryFreakyFunk, Hope's Light, cherryxxblossom, animeroxmyworld, Kimura, Pinaygrrl, ChryBlsms, chenocat, lil Ji Ji, Cherry Blossom02, Emeralddestiny, midnite-goddess, unknown, Fall3n Angel, hopeluv-chan, Chloena, youkaigirl64, ¤4nim3 luv3r¤ , mokano, chikichiki, AfGhAnCuTiE, Kitty Meow Mix-23, SerenityMelody and cherrysakura5 for their awesome reviews.

Chapter 13:- Star gazing festival.

"Syaoran could you slow down..." Sakura said gritting her teeth as the cold wind blew on her face harshly.

Syaoran smiled and rode faster.

" You are such a dirty jerk ! "

"Are you saying it bothers you when I'm dirty? Not that it's ever a problem..." Syaoran trailed off, smirking.

"Oh yeah, drives me wild it does " Sakura retorted sarcastically.

" Does it now? I'll remember that "

Sakura scowled " You know I would hit you right about now, but I'm afraid I'll fall off the horse. "

" Lucky me. " Syaoran said in mock relief.

Sakura rolled her eyes and watched the snowy woodland area as they rode alongside it.

" I think it's wonderful to go horse riding in winter, despite what I had told you earlier. I really can't see anything more nicer than this " she stated smiling brightly.

Syaoran smirked " Riding on a horse with a sexy, charming, dashing, hands-"

"Arrogant, vain, sarcastic, cruel, egoistic " Sakura cut in smartly.

" -ome man is equally wondrous my dear Sakura " he finished giving her a slight glare at the interruption.

Sakura smiled wickedly " It must be, but I haven't really gone horse riding with such men till now "

"Awful woman you are, exactly know how to make a man feel good. " Syaoran said with a lazy grin.

" I'm sure other women have covered that job pretty well " Sakura remarked wryly.

It wasn't until a few seconds later that it took Syaoran to register that she was probably referring to a physical sense.

He was vaguely humored and didn't respond, but the question Sakura asked him next nearly made him fall off the horse.

" Will you marry? "

' How different that question would be if she added a ' _me_ ' at the end ' a little voice in his mind told him slyly.

Syaoran quickly shoved that thought.

" Why? " He asked her flatly.

" That's the whole purpose of this show isn't it ? For you to chose The Right One among the girls and court her ? " Sakura asked with a frown creasing brow.

" Not everyone meets their right One " Syaoran said cynically.

Sakura looked thoughtful " I don't know, I think everyone gets a chance of meeting them once. But they just don't realise it "

"I suppose you're expecting some sort of burning bush to tell you who your right one is ? " Syaoran asked, raising his eye brow.

" I know that! I believe we need to light our own damn bush." Sakura answered hotly.

Syaoran smiled at her fiery attitude " Moses would have the shock of his lifetime if he heard you " he said wryly.

Sakura giggled " I bet he would "

" What will you do for not missing or overlooking this Right One ? " Syaoran asked a bit seriously.

Sakura shrugged " You can't really do anything but have your eyes opened on a look out. Sometimes, they're the last people you'd expect to fall for..."

..those last few phrases hung in the air, ominously, the irony not noticed by both.

Syaoran laughed a little " My, my, little Sakura just finished her first intelligent speech so far. "

Sakura scoffed at him.

" It's a miracle ! " he exclaimed with fake awe and playfully ruffled her hair.

He blinked at the soft strands beneath his fingers, suddenly realizing that he had never actually touched her hair before. At least not on purpose. It was like warm silk...

And unbidden to him memories he tried to shove into the back of his mind came crashing down again.

' Kiss me Syaoran. '

' I'm not joking, I'll prove it to you...'

' That wasn't so bad now was it ? You taste like chocolate by the way...'

The memory ended with a soft laugh that soon turned into deep breathing as the girl fell asleep on his chest.

" Syaoran? What's the matter ? Is there something on my hair? " Sakura asked in confusion.

Syaoran blinked, suddenly realizing that his hand was still resting against her head, his fingers caressing the soft locks absently.

' What the hell am I doing! ' he screamed at himself, hastily jerking his hand away.

Sakura was still waiting for an answer, looking up at him uncertainly.

" I, uh, " Syaoran stammered cheeks coloring rapidly. ' What can I say? '

" LEAF ! " he blurted out loudly making Sakura wince.

Syaoran cleared his throat " There was a leaf stuck in your hair, and I got it out "

Sakura seemed to buy it " Thanks".

He nodded back with a shaky smile and they trudged past the woodland and were now going on a snow covered ground.

Sakura rocked herself back in forth from the cold and was rubbing her arms.

" Are you trying to fall off the horse? I would gladly assist you if that's the case " Syaoran mocked.

" I'm trying to keep myself warm, baka (idiot)! " Sakura answered with a scowl.

Syaoran snapped his attention from the path and towards Sakura, and noticed her shivering a little more than he liked to see, even with her thick coat on.

He wordlessly pulled her into his chest elating a shocked gasp from the said girl.

The side of Sakura's leg was now pressed against his, and his arms were around her waist, enveloping her in warmth.

"Are you feeling better now ? "

His smooth deep voice made her heart skip a few beats for some unknown reason.

"Y-yes. "

"Good. I'm not interested to deal with the cops, incase you die freezing." he said with a smirk.

To anyone else this may have sounded rude.

They would probably think Syaoran as selfish, arrogant, sadistic, obnoxious, snobby, insufferable, vile, intolerable, detestable, abhorrent, despicable, horrible, repugnant, cruel, horrendous, unbearable...you get the point right ?

But to Sakura it was glaringly obvious that he was merely trying to cover up his concern.

" Thank you, Syaoran " she whispered softly, revealing to him the fact that she had seen through his words.

Syaoran's smirk faltered and was replaced by a look of puzzlement as he wondered on how Sakura caught onto him.

' I must be getting transparent ' he thought wryly.

Although he couldn't help but feel a strange sensation of satisfaction at her words.

**OoOoOoOoO**

They soon arrived at the village gates, and tied the horse in a stable.

" Crowded, isn't it? " Sakura commented wryly as they entered inside the gate.

" That may be the understatement of the year " Syaoran retorted eyeing the many banners in Chinese and the dresses of the people.

" This is the Star gazing festivals " he stated nodding his head a bit in confirmation.

Sakura looked at the surrounding in awe " Wow, a festival! What do they celebrate it for ? "

Syaoran shot her a dumb look " I don't know, to gaze at stars? "

" No baka, I meant what do they do in it "

" They have parades, food stalls, petting farms, fireworks and that's about it I guess " he said nonchalantly.

Sakura scowled "You even make a beautiful festivalsound so boring "

Syaoran gave her a tiny smile " It's a gift. "

Sakura rolled her eyes, she had witnessed his vainness too much to make a comeback on it.

" When can we eat? " She demanded.

" You are driven solely by your stomach." Syaoran stated dryly.

" Hey ! I resent that " Sakura said with a pout.

" Don't we all..."

Sakura huffed. " You know I think all these cruel comments, stems from some aggression that you hold against me for being cooler then you! "

" Oh yes that's so it " Syaoran said as he eyed Sakura in exasperation.

Sakura nodded wisely. " Yep. You know you really should see a counselor. But before that we should eat "

After Sakura's constant pestering, Syaoran dragged her to a food stall only to find out that they had to wait in lines for ordering.

" These lines take forever " Sakura complained. " It's been half an hour already ! "

" Try complaining a little louder. Maybe people will get sick of it and leave," Syaoran suggested snidely.

Sakura gave him a sour look. "Well, you're still here aren't you? So I doubt it'd work on anyone else," she shot back.

Syaoran grinned " I've built up a resistance to your whine " he countered. " I can take anything you dish out."

" Then why do you complain about my complaining!" Sakura snapped, shooting him a glare.

Syaoran smirked " Because I enjoy watching your face turn such a lovely shade of crimson when you get mad."

Sakura opened her mouth to retort, thought the better of it, and closed it again.

A few minutes later...

" This is so tasty ! It's definitely worth the wait " Sakura said, her mouth full of noodles.

Syaoran wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Chew " he advised.

Grinning, Sakura closed her mouth and obeyed with exaggerated slow movements.

"You look like a cow " Syaoran told her with a laugh.

" Moo" Sakura stated, and dipped her chopsticks back into her bowl.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You're immature " he said seriously.

" You're a Satan. " Sakura retorted.

Syaoran gave a short laugh. "I suppose I am. They say I'm devilishly handsome "

Sakura gave him an exasperated look. Really how vain can a guy be ?

"And besides " he added slyly "Since I did warm you, maybe the fires of hell dwell in me after all " he said winking at her.

There was an instantaneous spray of a blush on her cheeks as she remembered the horse riding incident a while ago.

She averted her gaze, looking down at the suddenly, very interesting noodles.

It's quite fascinating you know, all that long, yellow gravy smothered noodles. Couldn't seem to take her eyes off it.

Syaoran gave a lazy grin as he observed her silently. " Anything interesting you find in there ? " he teased.

Sakura willed herself not to turn even more red.

' I might as well earn a Ph.D. in the art of embarrassment! They won't even have to test me! One look and they'll be handing the accursed diploma...' she thought darkly.

" Shut up you ass " Sakura retorted tying to keep the remains of her dignity intact.

" That's the second time you've mentioned my charming rear-end " Syaoran grinned mockingly.

Sakura gaped at him in disbelief. " I never said anything about your snooty ass. I merely said that you ARE ONE."

Syaoran couldn't contain his amusement "Well, you just did."

' Note to self : Self-preservation is not my strong point.' Sakura thought dryly.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Inside the mansion...

Naoko frowned " Kasumi what are you doing? "

"You know how it gets boring around here without Sakura, right ? "

"Yeah.."

"So I've decided to try an intellectual way to pass the time " Kasumi said ringing a paperboard.

" That's a first " Naoko stated dryly.

Kasumi ignored her comment " I'm going to start painting ! " she said happily.

She managed to wrestle up some painting supplies and sat at the end of the room working diligently on her masterpiece.

Naoko shook her head and continued reading a horror book.

" I'm done ! " Kasumi announced suddenly, setting the brush down beside her.

Naoko peered over her friends shoulder and frowned, the paper was completely blank.

" What in the world is this? " she asked in confusion.

" I call it, 'Cow Eating Grass ' " Kasumi stated proudly.

" Where's the grass? " Naoko questioned.

" The cow ate it. "

" Where's the cow? "

" He's not going to stick around if there's no more grass! "

Naoko groaned and resisted the urge to smack her companion in the head. Repeatedly. With a shovel.

**OoOoOoOoO**

" Oh, it's so cute !" Sakura squealed, petting a furry Siamese kitten.

( She is currently inside the petting farm. )

" I bet fluffy would love you! You look just like him! But your eyes are different. Hmmm, I wonder what he would say if I mentioned that " she muttered to herself, grinning.

" I wonder that, too, since nobody I know can understand cat talk " Syaoran said wryly from behind her, making her jump in surprise.

He leaned closer, so that his breath tickled her ear, " But I bet if it talks, it'll be screaming for help!"

Sakura stuck out her tongue at him. "jerk "

She stroked the kitten's soft head. It yawned and closed its eyes, cuddling into her as it settled in for a nap.

"See? " she said happily. " He likes me. You know you should get a cat, atleast pet this one ! "

Sakura held the kitten out to him, and Syaoran backed away when it hissed at him menacingly.

"No thanks. I'm not a cat person " he replied eyeing the cat with narrowed eyes.

" How surprising " she replied with false enthusiasm.

" I rarely reach home in time, with all the work in the company. It'd probably starve to death."

Sakura snorted. "Yeah, it'll starve for affection "

" What's that supposed to mean !" Syaoran demanded.

" Nothing, it's just that you're as charming as an alligator !" she shot back. "If you have one romantic bone in your body, the rivers will flow up the sky !"

Syaoran scowled " It's not like you're any better. From what I've heard you didn't have a decent romantic life yourself. " then a sly smile came to his face " If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a jinx "

If he expected a comeback, then he was in for a shock. Because Sakura deliberately refused to look at him. But from where he was standing Syaoran could clearly see that she was upset by what he said.

Syaoran cleared his throat, trying to shake off the sudden sense of guilt building inside him.

" Can we get going? We've been here for ten minutes !" he said irritated.

Sakura huffed. "Well, go on then! No one's stopping you! " she snapped and continued. "Go cuddle the pigs, they are more your type anyway. "

" I thought my type was the Stupidicus Dorkus " he joked trying to lighten her mood.

' I'm berating myself to make her feel better. What's gotten into me ? ' he wondered frowning.

" That's your class type! This is your personality, ill-mannered and pig headed ! " she said clearly not noticing Syaoran's attempts.

" Very funny " he said dryly.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Kasumi sighed " I'm bored "

" You've been saying that for the hundredth time ! " Naoko snapped clearly on the rim of her patience.

Kasumi pouted "And you still haven't entertained me "

" Go read some book with Kourin "

" But she only reads M-rated mangas and playboy magazines " Kasumi whined.

" And when has that stopped you? " Naoko retorted dryly.

"Never, I suppose. But I finished reading them yesterday ! " Kasumi sulked, then she brightened up "I'll ask you questions ! "

Naoko scowled " No, I'm reading a book. "

Kasumi gave her puppy eyes "Pleeeeeeeeease? "

Naoko sighed " Fine "

Kasumi smiled " Ok, here it goes. If you are trapped in a room with no windows and a locked door. How do you get out? "

Naoko stared at her strangely " Break down the door ?"

" Nope. Go through the holes where the windows used to be!"

Naoko's eyes twitched.

" Ok another one. Why is the sun so bright? "

" It's because of the conversion of Hydrogen present in the suns atmosphere to Helium, this is an exothermic reaction and gives out a lot of energy, thus t-" Naoko was interrupted by Kasumi's raised hands.

"Yeah whatever, but the real reason is because it listens to its elders "

Naoko had to bite her tongue to keep her temper on check.

Really, It's a miracle she didn't bleed to death, considering all the blood vessels she's been bursting for the past few minutes.

" How far can you walk into the woods ?"

"As far as I can to get away from you " Naoko mumbled snidely.

" What's that ? " Kasumi questioned.

" I meant to say, a very good distance "

Kasumi smiled " Half way, after that you're walking out of the woods !"

Naoko threw the book on the floor and stood up.

" I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE ! " she yelled and ran out of the door.

Kasumi giggled and signaled for Airo to come inside.

Airo's face was full of held back laughter " She was a hard one to crack. So who won the bet ? "

Kasumi timed her watch and pouted "Aww, I lost by five minutes ! Darn ! Ashley won "

"Yup, I told ya, it'll take you twenty minutes to drive her insane "Ashley said coming in with a sweet smile at the two crestfallen girls.

" I'm loosing my touch " Kasumi said clicking her tongue in disappointment.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Sakura strained to see over the crowds hoping for even the slightest glimpse of the parade.

Syaoran managed to get a good spot, but her pride prevented her in asking him to let her stand in the front.

"Watch it, loser !" she yelled as a boy her age pushed her again.

The Chinese boy shot her a confused look since he didn't understand the language Sakura spoke, then he sneered at her and moved away.

' Atleast he got the hint that I was yelling at him. Cussing must be an international lingo ' Sakura thought wryly.

Suddenly, she was shoved hard from behind, and fell forward with a startled gasp, scraping her hands painfully against the ground.

There were feets, legs all around her. Walking and stamping, someone stepped on her hand, and she yelped, pulling away as tears filled her eyes.

" Syaoran ! " she cried instantly, too confused to even think of getting up.

Then she felt someone gripping her arms and pull her to her feet, into a warm chest with arms wrapped securely around her waist.

Without a word, Syaoran moved her gently in front of him, keeping himself between her and the crowd.

"Are you ok ? " he asked worriedly.

She was startled by his outward display of concern.

" I-im fine " she lied, despite the fact that a tear persisted in escaping, and that her hands stung, especially the one that had been stepped on.

"No, You're not " Syaoran stated wryly, taking her injured hand to look at it.

It was bruised and and tiny droplets of blood were forming on them.

" They stepped on your hand ! " He exclaimed angrily.

" It was an accident really, I'm fine " Sakura said in a daze.

She was still getting used to this new side of Syaoran that, as you can see, shows up once in a blue moon. Syaoran sighed and shook his head.

Standing over her protectively he pushed the people out the way till they reached a river, which was surprisingly free of people.

Sakura merely watched as Syaoran dampened his handkerchief (no prize for guessing which color it is ), and then gently clean the scrapes on her hands.

Her breath caught in her throat as he gently wrapped her bruised hand in it, bending his messy brown head in concentration, with it's soft hair tickling her cheeks.

When Syaoran finished a satisfied smile graced his features.

He raised his amber orbs to meet her own. " There " he said softly " All better."

Sakura had to blinked twice to bring her back from a reverie.

" Thank you " she whispered for the second time that day, feeling trapped in the depths of his eye.

The loud banging of a drum startled both of them and they heard people yell something in Chinese.

" The parade started " Syaoran said looking over at the direction of the noise.

" Oh " Sakura eyed the cheerful crowd regretfully. " I'm very sorry... "

Syaoran turned to look at her with surprise " For what ? "

" You lost your spot because of me " she told him bowing her head in guilt.

She was startled when warm fingers settled under her chin, gently tilting her face up to meet a deep, enigmatic gaze.

His eyes were suddenly dancing with gentle humor " Instead of worrying over your injury, you're more concerned that I lost the spot ? "

Sakura nodded hesitantly against his fingers, which were yet to be removed from her chin.

Syaoran regarded her with an unreadable expression and traced his thumb over her lips briefly making her Emerald eyes widen in surprise.

" You're such an idiot " he stated softly.

And before Sakura could understand what was going on, the warmth of his thumb was replaced with the much headier warmth, as he pressed his lips softly to her own.

A/N:-

**Review reply**

candy-chan-chan:- I know the perfect place to kick your neighbors butt : Timbuktu! I have no idea where it is, so the chances of him knowing it are pretty much zero.He'll never find his way home. Or you can send him off to Bermuda triangle, if the freak tries to escape then A) He'll drown in the sea, B) get ship wrecked in the middle of nowhere, C) End up in a parallel dimension or D) get kidnapped by aliens. Weird stuff happens to people who go to this island. Pick your choice, all of them are good enough I guess. PS:- Kick him... HARD.Ja ne.

Tella:- It's alright, I know how tormenting exams can be. God knows Physics is meant to be burned along with Math. I don't mind writing exams, but i just don't want to see the marks I get in it ... Sorry for the late update, it's a lot too busy here, what with the college hunt and all that.


	14. Paradigm Glitch

**Disclaimer**:- I may not own CCS, but I do have an invisible Leprechaun that dances around my computer. I'm so lucky! Cheers...not.

A/N: Thanks to :- Cheerful-Cherry, AfGhAnCuTiE, Pure-Hearted, il0verice, Kimura, Kesshou Uryou ,animeflower, CherryIzzy, cherrysakura5, unknowna, chikichiki, Awwww, arela , CC , Inu Star Angel, UnknownBeauty, quietgrlindacorner, Sirenic Griffin, Stephanie ,dangergirl, Sakume Nohara, Haruko Higurashi, iloveanime8, amy0110, Luz, oki ayame, hopeluv-chan, Kimiko5, a little someone, Chloena, LadyAkina, Cherry Blossom02, KristiexxNguyen, MunChixD, summer lover, Cherryblossomrox, UnheardSymphony, dreamsplash, Tella, SakK, Inkirietta, SakuraKino, Syaoluver0202 ,totally-spaz, Emeralddestiny, ileia, xchibiangelx, hi, Chaotic Lydian and tam224ara for reviewing, you guys are beautiful. !

**The last scene in the previous chapter** was actually taken from a movie, I worked around the lines a bit, but the scene is quite the same (except it was at an amusement park in the movie). So if u felt the whole part romantic, then praise the movie producers not me.

**Thanks to kriztalstar91 for helping me get the idea for Touya-kun's part. -hugs- this chapter is dedicated to her ! **

**' # ' is for T.V commentary. **

Chapter 14:- Paradigm Glitch. ( Freaky title, I know...)

A raven haired man walked down the sidewalk on the quite streets of Tomoeda, having finished grocery shopping since it's his day off from work.

He is tall, well built and has a sharp pointy face with deep onyx eyes. The man is not older than 26 and yet he has gone to more than 50 jobs.

It's an old habit of his, working in different places, showing up almost unexpectedly. Now he's settled himself in a multi-national company as the the Head Accountant.

He's been working there for 2 months...his longest time in a job so far. That's right folks, he made a record !

There are many things that irritate the man, and being late to work was on the top list.

Although someone else came in an extremely close second. Someone named...

" Toooooouuuuuuyaaaaa-kun ! " a girl flew out of nowhere and threw her arms and legs around the the said man, piggy-back style.

The girl had long shining black hair and maroon eyes.

" Akizuki " Touya said gritting his teeth.

She poked her head over his shoulder and grinned devilishly. " Konnichiwa ! So how's my Touya-kun doing on this lovely morning ? " Nakuru asked.

" Fine until you showed up. Get off me, Akizuki "

Nakuru shifted her arms and nuzzled her cheek into his hair, totally ignoring the tiny growling noises coming from the man's throat.

" But you're so comfy Tou-chan, and it totally beats walking. "

" Don't call me that ! "

Nakuru ignored his comment " Can I ask you a little favor ? "

" No "

" Can I come over and watch a show on your T.V ? Mine got busted, Suppi-chan thought it would be amusing to pour orange juice inside it " she said grudgingly.

" Of course not "

"Pleeeeease? It's a reality show and you know how I love them right ? They even selected the contestants from Japan !Oh pleeeease ...can I ? " she pleaded sniffing slightly for dramatic effects.

Touya sighed " Fine, if it stops you from pestering me right now "

" Aww, Thanks. You're so sweet Tou-chan ! " Nakuru said and released him to give a tight hug.

" I'll race you there ! " she exclaimed with a big grin and took off.

Touya smiled watching her run ahead.

' The worst I treat her, the happier she gets. Maybe I should be nice to Nakuru, hopefully that would turn her off.'

Shaking his head with the smile still lingering on his lips, Touya followed her towards his house

**OoOoOoOoO**

The air was chilly, and snow covered the rooftops and grounds of the Li mansion. The mansion gardens can only be described as beautiful, but now basked in the moonlight, it seemed to shine with a sliver glow giving it an ethereal look.

On the whole, the atmosphere around the place was cool, calm and relaxing.

Naoko Yanagisawa was about to go screaming mad.

' How dare she ? How dare they ! ' she thought furiously blinking back angry tears.

You see, right after she stormed out of the room Ashley had been so excited she practically screamed about winning some bet.

It takes no genius to figure out what was going on.

Naoko literally stomped towards the backyard lawn and flopped down in the grass facing the pond, and glared at the waters through her tearing eyes.

She stiffened slightly as she heard someone coming.

The figure stopped beside her and crouched down to her level, grinning cheerfully.

"Hey " Akira murmured. " What's up ?"

" What are you doing here ?" she asked irritably, clearly not in the mood for a conversation.

" I live in there " Akira replied gently, pointing at the Li mansion behind them. " Or have you forgotten that ?"

Naoko lifted her face to see him and Akira noted the slight redness in her eyes.

" Did you come over here just to mock me? " she snapped.

Akira smiled at her " No " he replied. " But saying that made you look up, didn't it ?"

Naoko's eyes widened slightly, and she looked away, but not before Akira caught sight of her reddened cheeks.

" Why are you upset ? " he asked sitting beside her.

Naoko remained silent.

"You can tell me, I can help... " he trailed off.

" Are you a psychiatrist? Can you pick apart people's brains? " she demanded fiercely.

Looking positively frightened now, Akira shook his head.

" Then no, you can't help me " with a scowl, she continued glaring at the pond.

Akira decided that it would be wiser not to speak, so he watched her instead, fascinated by the many shade of golden brown in her hair as the moonlight played around it.

Naoko turned to look at him " What ?" she asked.

" Nothing " he replied with a shrug, turning away.

" You know, it is impossible for it to be nothing " she told him.

" No matter what you still have to be doing something because even if nothing is going through your head it is still  
something as you can say it is nothing which gives it substance making it something."

A sound of laughter greeted her ears.

" That made absolutely no sense, Naoko " Akira said his eyes dancing with humor.

" Well, it made sense to me " Naoko replied with a huff, but she could feel her lips going up into a smile.

Naoko sighed ' Might as well tell him...'

" It's the girls, they made a bet on me " she confessed.

Akira narrowed his eyes. " What sort of bet "

He had felt an odd sense of protectiveness over Naoko since the day he met her.

" I'm not sure. But judging by the way they acted, I guess it must've been on how to irritate me or something like that " she answered with a scowl.

" Could be.. " Akira said frowning thoughtfully.

" They grate my nerves to the very end and now they're making bets around my back ! " Naoko gritted out angrily.

" I mean, give me a break here! Never mind, it would be easier to ask for some air, considering they're all a bunch of airheads. Being with them is so frustrating ! " she finished panting slightly to catch breath.

" Well, you know what they say " Akira said matter-of-factly.

Naoko raised an eyebrow " What do they say?"

" Beats me " he replied with a grin and a shrug. " I just felt like saying that."

" Do you think that was helpful ? " Naoko asked with a scowl.

Akira smiled sheepishly " Well, how about you pour honey over their heads saying it's a new hair treatment, and I'll help you throw them near a giant ant hill, as payback. " he suggested.

" Or we'll let loose a couple of frogs in their room. Maybe they'd do a weird Irish jig on seeing them hop around"

Naoko was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes " Akira, you know it sounds unreal right ? "

" Yeah, but it's a pleasant thought now isn't it? You're lucky you didn't get to interview them. I still have nightmares from hearing some of their answers..." he said shuddering a bit.

" I guess I am " she replied giggling. " Thanks Akira, now I feel much better. "

Akira grinned " What can I say? It tore my heart to see the beautiful woman I like upset. "

Naoko raised an eyebrow " I thought you were done with those cheesy pick up lines."

" I am " he stated seriously, his intense dark blue eyes boring into hers.

Naoko blushed and looked away " Oh "

A slightly uncomfortable silence stretched on for a minute or two, as Naoko mulled over what he had just said.

" Nice night isn't it ... " Akira stated lamely elating a laugh from her.

" Couldn't be better " Naoko answered, giving him a pointed glance and blushed fiercely when he winked at her playfully.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Ooh, It's going to start! Isn't this exciting ? " Nakuru squealed as she stared at the T.V screen.

" I can hardly wait " a dry voice said from the kitchen. (Touya was cooking )

# " Welcome to the fifth season of ' The Bachelor ' ! I'm your host Shiefa Liang and in a few minutes we'll meet all the 25 contestants who are here to woe the heart of our Bachelor, Syaoran Li ! " #

" Now where have I heard that name before..." Touya murmured to himself as he came out to set the tables for breakfast.

Nakuru was glued to the screen in rapt attention.

# "And here are the lovely ladies who came all the way from Japan ! Kasumi Yuhiko, Airo Yuki , Kourin Chou... Naoko Yanagisawa ..." #

Touya paused ' Wait a minute, Naoko Yanagisawa? Isn't that the Kaijuu's (mosters)friend ? '

# " and the final contestant... SAKURA KINOMOTO ! " #

CRASH ( Someone's gonna need a new set of plates around the house...)

" WHAT ! "

**OoOoOoOoO**

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you accidentally show up to work or school naked and everyone is staring at you and someone calls the cops, and they bring in the S.W.A.T team to arrest you and tie your hands behind your back with a handcuff and drag you off to jail but on the way someone manages to snap your picture and then your family disowns you because you are Stark-naked on the front of the Newspaper...

... and the cops throw you in a cell and you realize you're not alone because there's a woman named FlubberPoo sitting in the corner and she's a lot bigger than you and she's smiling in a very evil way and cracking her knuckles and then you remember this movie you saw that tell you about what really goes on in prison...

... so you throw yourself out the window because you'd rather die than wait around to find out what FlubberPoo has in store for you and just as you hit the ground you wake up screaming?

Yes, well Sakura was pretty sure that's what was happening to her.

Dreaming, that is.

Dreaming. One of those really weird dreams like the one mentioned above.

For she could come up with no other logical explanation for what was going on.

' I became unconscious when I fell to the ground and I'm dreaming of Syaoran kissing me... '

'... must've hit my skull pretty hard. '

Slowly, she raised her hands and entwined them in his silky hair and she felt his warm hands go around her waist.

' This dream feels so real...'

The sweetness of his lips made her weak, and she felt as if everything inside her had stopped functioning as he deepened the kiss further.Finally they ended the kiss and pulled back.

That's when the reality of the situation hit Syaoran like a ton of bricks...

Oh. My. God

He stared at the ground absolutely petrified on the spot. It wasn't that the mud was incredibly captivating, and yet he still couldn't wrench his vision away.

Syaoran quickly came up with three options to handle this predicament he got himself in.

Option A:

Move to the Canadian Wilderness and survive on what the land provides. Who knows? Frozen caribou might not be so bad with a little salt.

Which he would have to extract from bear pee or something since salt doesn't grows in the Canadian Wilderness. In fact, salt doesn't grows at all.

Option B:

Perhaps he could flee to Sri Lanka. That would work. As long as he gets out of the way when one of the elephants decided it needs to sit, he figured he'd be just fine.

Or maybe he'd just have to take the more sane last option.

He raised his gaze towards Sakura his cheeks taking a dark hue with each second.

' Option C: Confront the situation and wear proud battle scars at the end '

" Well .. " Syaoran began awkwardly " Aren't you going to say something ? "

" When am I going to wake up ? "

"Wha-" He suddenly yelped and drew back sharply as Sakura gave him a pinch through his shirt.

" What the hell was that for !" he exploded.

" You can feel that... " she whispered eyes widening in realisation.

" No shit Sherlock " he rubbed his offended chest with a distinct scowl in her direction. "What were you trying to do, give me a nipple twist !"

" Then you, you..you kissed me ! " Sakura exclaimed disbelievingly.

Syaoran rolled his eyes " Brilliant deduction, detective. You may cuff me now "

" And I kissed you back " she said in the same tone.

" Did it take all your brain cells to figure out, or was it a spur of the moment thing ? " he asked clearly not enjoying this dumb conversation.

The jibe seemed to snap Sakura out of her daze and she glared at him " Why did you kiss me ? "

" You did it too " he retorted.

" I thought It was a dream ! "

" So " he said slyly " You have no problems kissing me if it was one ? "

Now it was Sakura's turn to represent a tomato.

" I- i d-din't mean it like that ! " she said trying to be convincing.

_Trying_ is the word folks...

" Denial is not just a river in Egypt " he told her tauntingly.

" Yeah, it's a major tourist attraction "

Syaoran raised an eyebrow at her " You're more insane than I thought "

Sakura shrugged " I've been hanging around you, I'm bound to loose my sanity "

He gave her an acid look which slowly changed into his trade mark smirk

" We may come across rivers flowing up the sky " Syaoran told her elating a snort from the girl.

" And he said I was nuts... "

Syaoran rolled his eyes " Back in the petting farm, you said rivers would flow up the sky if I had a romantic bone in my body.. "

" But, what I did was pretty romantic don't you think? " he teased.

" Well, I always liked the idea of someone serenading to me with a guitar as romantic " Sakura confessed with a slight blush.

Syaoran gagged.

" Yeah, there goes my romantic notion " she grumbled.

" Seriously, roses are fine. But guitar strumming? That's for sissies " he said in disgust.

" Yes, please continue trashing my dream " she told him wryly.

"And I suppose holding hands is very romantic ?"

" Well I think it's sweet. "

" You would, wouldn't you? " Syaoran smirked.

"Oh, of course Mr. Fan club Li here doesn't have the need to do that. He is already oozing with so much charm and perfectness, all the girls just run and latch onto him by themselves. " Sakura said sarcastically.

For a moment, Syaoran was silent. Then he wiped an invisible tear from his eye.

" You know me so well "

Sakura scowled and was about to retort, but got interrupted as bright flashes of colorful lights and sound of explosions filled the sky.

" It's the fireworks " she exclaimed and they both glanced up captured by its brilliance.

( Imagine the firework scene on The Lizzie McGuire movie, the one with Lizzie and Paulo, except they're not holding hands in here )

Syaoran paused and turned to look at Sakura with an odd expression on his face.

" You know " he began looking back up again. " If it hadn't been you, I would've said I had enjoyed that kiss "

Sakura felt her lips form a smile " If it hadn't been you, I would've said the same thing "

" But sadly it's you "

" Mm-hmm, I know "

" So I wouldn't say all that... "

" Me too "

Sakura duly noted how Syaoran avoided telling her the reason as to why he kissed her.

But then again, she questioned herself, why did she let him? Even if it had been a dream, why not pull away instead of give in ?

Sakura had a strange feeling, that she wouldn't be pleased to hear the answer...

**Next Time**: Touya kills Syaoran, and Syaoran turns into a ghost --Just kidding... it would be highly amusing if he did though...


	15. Awakened Feelings

**Disclaimer**: If you think i own CCS you are either stupid or flattering...i prefer the latter..** :P**

A Big Thanks to these gorgeous people:- Kayapride, kriztalstar91, Kesshou Uryou, nena05000, Cheerful-Cherry, AfGhAnCuTiE, Pinaygrrl, okiayame, cherrysakura5, chikichiki, MunChixD, Emeralddestiny, Lady Golden Flower, Cherrysinger, Inu Star Angel, suppixchan, VampireJazzy, Low/Astrum, Filipian-Chic18, c0lap1nada, CherryChik, pschoticmassmurderer, LadyAkina, SakK, Chloena, wemsicles, arela/carissa/kasumi, Sakura-Moonlight, ccsluva, CC, CherryBlossom , Aeris Gainsbrough, cade-chan, ChryBlsms, iloveanime8, summer lover, hopeluv-chan, CherryFreakyFunK, litod3vil, Mew Sakura, leesuh, Kimiko5, illusion, KristiexxNguyen, Inkirietta, Shaoran Cute , asdf , x3Dorky-Candee, Kimura ,im not telling ,Yuna Sakura, reader love, totally-spaz, Doggie-Love, Amie, a little someone, quietgrlindacorner, candy-chan-chan, Emerald Amber, JENII, Cherry Izzy, SerenityMelody, may may-chan, Tammy and -Glittery-Bubbles- for reviewing last chapter.

Chapter 15 - Awakened Feelings.

**Falling and dancing like the Cherry blossoms, my feelings towards you... **

Akira leaned against a tree and stared ahead with a far away look in his eyes.

His front bangs were waving gently in the cool winter breeze. Suddenly a memory flashed through his mind.

Sitting on the snowy grass her face was lifted towards the sky, with the moonlight playing around the gold in her hair. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with a light of their own...and yet, it was the soft smile on her lips that was the brightest of all.

" What's wrong with me ?" he growled to himself. ' Why do I keep thinking about her... '

" Hmm, I can think a lot of things that are wrong with you. But firstly...the fact that you're standing here talking to yourself, is definitely up there."

Akira jumped, clearly surprised by the feminine voice. He whirled around to meet Naoko's wide brown eyes.

" I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay? "

"Oh, fine, just fine " Akira said, patting his chest. "I always thought having a beating heart was kinda annoying, anyway ."

Naoko smothered a giggle. " I'm glad to know it was nothing serious, then. Why are you here so early ? " she questioned curiously.

" Couldn't sleep " he replied " You? "

" Me neither " Naoko agreed.

" Tough luck " he said with an attempt at a smile. " What do you say we go for a walk ? "

Naoko smiled at him " I'd say it's a wonderful idea "

They walked past the lawn and reached the pond situated in the back of the mansion.

Naoko threw a rock into the water, and watched it skip five times before sinking beneath the clear, smooth surface.

The sun, which had just begun to rise in the east, sent rays of light flashing off the water, causing the entire area to glitter in a myriad of blue and white sparkles.

" I'm leaving " Akira spoke breaking the silence around them.

Naoko nodded " Yes, I suppose you were out here a little too long. You're bound to ge-"

" I'm _leaving_ ." Akira interrupted stressing on the word.

Comprehension dawned on her. " Oh " Naoko whispered stunned.

Akira turned away from her and stared at the pond. " I finished the report on you girls like I was supposed to...and after the Rose ceremony tonight, I'm not exactly wanted here. "

" I want you..." Naoko blurted out quickly making Akira snap his head towards her.

" t-to tell me where you're going " she stuttered trying to cover her slip up.

Something akin to hurt flashed across his blue-grey eyes...but it was gone so fast that it made Naoko wonder if she saw it in the first place.

" I was planning on going to New York for a job. Since I had to come here, I cancelled the tickets. But now..." he trailed off.

" That's wonderful ! " Naoko exclaimed in what she thought was a cheerful voice " You're going to New York ! "

Akira remained silent.

" The city is quite crowded.. just like Tokyo I guess. " she let out a hollow laugh " Funny how two places half way across the globe get similar "

" It'll be a nice experience, to live there. A-and I'm sure " her voice choked a little " you'll get to meet a lot of beautiful women. Really, I'm happy for you "

Getting no reply from him, Naoko saddened.

" I guess this is goodbye then..." she whispered softly.

" Have a nice trip " she said and patted Akira.

Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, Akira grasped it and pulled her towards him.

She was slammed against his chest and he immediately wrapped his arms around her. She stood there against him, shocked and yet comfortable.

"A-akira? " Naoko spoke around her heart pounding loudly in her chest.

Akira buried his face into her her hair, breathing in its unique, pleasant scent. ' I think I finally understand why...'

He fought the tightness that threatened to choke his voice.

" I'm glad I met you. I- " he wanted to say it so badly but he couldn't...

" I'll miss you..." Was all he could say. ' I love you, Naoko... '

Naoko's eyes softened at those words and she rested her head against his chest to feel his heart beating strongly against her cheek. " Me too..."

They both stood there losing track of time.

Holding onto each other desperately and tightly, as though even the smallest gap between them will cause the other person to disappear...

**OoOoOoOoO**

" Sakura ? "

The said girl's eyebrow twitched.

"Sakuraaaa.." the voice called in a loud whiney tone.

Sakura groaned and painstakingly opened her eyes. She shifted in her bed and squinted to see the big glowing red letters of the alarm clock.

" I'm worried " Ashley, Sakura's room-mate, informed her at exactly 6:00 AM in the morning.

" You couldn't wait another three hours to tell me this ! " Sakura snapped.

Clearly, Sakura isn't a before-the-crack-of-dawn type of person.

Ashley frowned " You weren't sleeping, were you ? "

" Nah, Of course not! What gave you that idea? I was just trying to see through the back of my eyelids for the past couple of hours " she said sarcastically.

" That's good. Hey, Sakura... "

Sakura glared, but the darkness ruined any chance of Ashley getting intimated by it.

" What ? "

" I want to ask you something. "

" Fine, Go ahead. "

" Are you sure? You're not sleepy ? "

" You destroyed all chances of that, didn't you? Just ask the question. "

" Okay. "

" Ask the damn question! "

" Okay, okay! Sheesh, there's no need to shout.."

" Just. Ask. The. Question. "

" Ok. Do you think Syaoran will give me a rose ? "

Sakura blinked " Say what ? "

Ashley sat up in bed and hugged her knees to her chest. " The last group date is today, so there's going to be a rose ceremony after it " she said.

Sakura frowned, she had forgotten about that. Truth be told, she was a little too preoccupied in figuring out what made her behave the way she did with Syaoran during the festival.

It's been a day since they shared a kiss and Syaoran had never brought up the subject. Which was just fine with Sakura.

The kiss wasn't exactly one-sided was it? Of-course not! We all know it takes two to tango... and Sakura wasn't too keen on finding out her real intensions behind the _dance _...

She was brought out of her musings when Ashley spoke up again.

" I don't think he'll choose me " she said in a hollow voice.

" Why do you say that ? "

" We didn't go on any single dates this time and the one we went on was plain awkward " she stated sadly.

" But you know what?" Ashley continued airily " I don't care, it's his loss! Although I wish he'd choose you at the end "

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.

' I can't believe she just said that. I guess I misjudged Ashley all this time, underneath all that stupid air-headed exterior of hers she really is an honest, sweet, n- '

" Because that'll surely drive the other girls up the wall. To be perfectly honest, I'd be too surprised if it happens myself. "

'- nasty little twat, who should be stuffed down the toilet- provided, of course, that someone deposited something smelly and foul just minutes before ' Sakura ended her thought darkly.

" _And_, If you don't mind me saying this... "

" I do mind " Sakura interrupted.

" But you don't even know what I was going to say! " Ashley exclaimed.

"How can I know if I'm going to mind what you were going to say if I don't know what you were going to say? " Sakura asked.

" That's what I'd like to know! "

" No, that's what I'd like to know. You're the one who said ' if you don't mind ' "

Ashley blinked for a moment and scratched her head. " What was I going to tell you...? " she mumbled to herself.

Sakura rolled her eyes and got off bed ' It's impossible to get some sleep around here'.

Sighing she made her way towards the bathroom to take a long relaxing shower.

On the other end of the mansion

" Rise and shine! " a cheerful sing-song voice said.

Syaoran Li rolled over and mumbled incoherently as he pulled a pillow over his face to drone out the voice.

With a huff, Shiefa removed the pillow from Syaoran's grasp and threw to the side.

" I'll rise but I refuse to shine " he muttered huskily, blinking his sleepy eyes to the sunlight.

" Cheerful as always " Shiefa told him with a smile. " Never thought I'd see you sleeping at this hour..."

" Makes you seem almost normal... " she remarked mischievously.

Syaoran scowled " Yeah well, go thank the jerk who planned yesterdays date "

" Going to the opera isn't all that bad " She said with an eye roll.

" They had the open air conditioning in the middle of the friggin winter ! " he snapped " and I had to go through the torture till 1:00 A.M in the morning "

" It's art, you should learn to appreciate it " Shiefa said with a frown.

Syaoran snorted " That isn't art. Art are paintings that can't sing! What they did was screech in the highest vocal possible to break everyone's ear drums "

Shiefa laughed " Well, atleast your date must've suffered along with you "

Syaoran grimaced " Airo sang along with them, I don't know who was doing a worse job at it. God, If only I had gone with Saku-" he stopped suddenly, eyes widening and looking as if someone punched him in the guts.

Shiefa giggled "Ooh, look who's been bitten by the green-eyed monster " she teased.

Syaoran's cheeks immediately turned pink " Shut up ! " he yelled embarrassed.

" My little brother is growing up so fast..." she sniffed " The next thing you know, there'll be little Sakura's and Syaoran's running around "

Syaoran turned a shade of red " SHUT UP, SHUT UP ! "

Shiefa smiled " Aww...You're even blushing, That's what normal guys do! My, my this Sakura Kinomoto sure turned your world upside down.."

"ARGH! LEAVE ME ALONE! " Syaoran screamed and stalked off the room, his face now a healthy deep red shade.

Shiefa smirked watching him leave ' Like it or not Syaoran, you're falling for her..._hard_ '

**OoOoOoOoO**

Eriol rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed into the phone "Yes, we'll be over there tomorrow. Don't worry about it "

Someone blubbered on the other end.

"Nothing's going to happen, Nakuru. I'm sure what you did was for the best...I'll get there as soon as possible. I promise, now stop crying and get some sleep "

More sniffling.

Eriol rolled his eyes " Right, you do that. Bye " he put the phone down.

" What was that about Eriol-kun? " Tomoyo asked coming behind him.

Eriol smiled "Pack your things Tomo-chan, we're catching the first flight to Tomoeda "

Tomoyo frowned " Why ? "

" Touya " Eriol answered.

Tomoyo gasped " Does he..." she trailed off uncertainly.

"Yes, unfortunately he does. " Eriol furrowed his brow " The show was aired a day before and Touya saw it "

Tomoyo groaned "Oh no... poor Nakuru-san. No wonder she called you up at this hour, she must be having a hard time managing Touya-san "

Eriol smirked " Not exactly..." He leaned in and whispered something to Tomoyo making her eye's widen.

" You're kidding ? " she said gaping at him in disbelief.

Eriol shook his head as a ' no '.

Tomoyo let out a hearty laugh " Poor Touya-san... "

Eriol laughed and nodded his head " Indeed.."

" Come on, Lets get going then. I don't want to miss this ! " Tomoyo said and started arranging her clothes in their suitcase.

She paused suddenly and turned towards Eriol " From what Shiefa last told us, isn't it time for the...? "

Eriol smiled " Yes, Sakura and Syaoran will be coming "

Tomoyo squealed and started packing things twice as fast as before " I'm going to see some of the best video recording moments in my entire life ! " she said excitedly.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The last group date had gone to Kasumi and Ashley, and it was a trip to a palace.

The 2 girls came back, Kasumi looking cheerful as usual but Ashley wore a defeated expression. Kasumi elaborated their date to everyone in the room.

Sakura rolled her eyes,sheglanced at Naoko and did a double take. Ashley's appearance was nothing compared to the state Naoko was in.

Her eyes seemed to lack the usual intelligent glint, it was filled with sadness and pain. Her face was a bit pale and her entire demeanor radiated misery.

Before Sakura could confront Naoko about it, Shiefa strode inside and announced the girls to get ready in five-minutes for the rose ceremony.

The tension was disgustingly thick as the girls descended the stairs and made their way towards the ceremony-hall.

Naoko, Sakura observed, was very detached and for one strange moment she wondered if Naoko was worried about Syaoran choosing her like the other girls.

The moment was gone as soon as it came, for Sakura knew without a doubt that Naoko simply wasn't of that type.

' Then what is she troubled about...? ' Sakura thought biting her lip in worry.

The girls arrived in the hall, and lined themselves a little away from where Syaoran stood before four roses.

Syaoran stepped forward and tenderly picked up the first rose and began the same explanation.

" I've gotten to know more about everyone and have grown fond of each of you. I feel like I have a connection with everyone here... " and all that stupid crap only idiots will truly believe in .

Unsurprisingly, most of the girls were swallowing up anything he said and were looking at him with rapt attention.

" He's grown fond of us! " Sakura heard Kasumi gush, she sighed in exasperation.

Syaoran was getting ready to call his first name. Finally he said, " Sakura "

Sakura was taken by surprise. This was the very first time Syaoran called her name at the beginning of the rose ceremony.

She accepted the rose from Syaoran, and saw him give her a slight smile, fighting down a blush she quickly went and stood to the other side.

The next girl to be called was Kasumi, who tried to swallow a squeal (unsuccessfully at it too) and took the rose from Syaoran giving him a tight hug.

" Thank you " she whispered voice thick with emotion and joined Sakura.

The nerve-wracking atmosphere had just gotten worse, as there were only two spots left.

Syaoran took the third rose " Naoko " he called out.

Naoko stood there seemingly lost in thoughts, she yelped as Ashley gave a sharp kick in the side.

" He just called your name " Ashley whispered fiercely.

Naoko nodded and hesitantly walked forward.

" Will you accept this rose " Syaoran asked.

Naoko eyed the rose held in his hand...a picture of Akira laughing flashed across her eyes.

She stood there frozen...unable to speak around the strange lump that was forming in her throat, while her mind flooded her with more images of Akira.

His smile...his laughter...the way his eyes seemed to comfort her...

_But saying that made you look up didn't it ?_

_It broke my heart to see the beautiful woman I like upset... _

_I'm glad I met you I- ...I'll miss you..._

' Akira...'

" No.. " Naoko whispered softly, then a determined expression came on her face and she repeated her words a bit louder " NO "

The girls gasped, even Sakura was shocked at Naoko's open rejection.

Syaoran seemed to be unfazed by this, infact he looked considerably happy. " One hour left, hurry " he told her and shoved something into her hand.

Naoko appeared to have understood what he said, and she gave him a grateful smile.

Hugging a confused Sakura and muttering a hurried 'Good bye ', she dashed out of the hall and towards the outside.

A limo, that was usually reserved for the rejected girls to ride take them home, stood before her with it's doors wide open.

Naoko scrambled inside and stared surprised at her bags that were sitting there. She finally saw what Syaoran shoved into her hands and gaped.

It was an airplane ticket to New York !

' Syaoran had it all planned...' she thought with a slight smile.

Gaining her attention, Naoko ordered the driver to take her to the Hong-Kong airport and told him loudly ' to step on it '.

At the airport (35 minutes later ...)

Akira got up from his seat and reluctantly made his way towards the Boarding gate.

' Well, this is it. Time to leave ' he thought sadly. ' I'll never forget this place...'

"Akira ! "

' I wish I hadn't been a coward and told her how I felt... but then again she would've probably slapped me or never spoken to me again... '

" AKIRA ! "

His eyes reflected deep pain ' I didn't want to ruin our friendshi- '

"OOF " Akira exclaimed and stumbled slightly as someone collided onto him from the back.

The person was clutching him from the behind so tightly that he found it hard to breathe.

" Akira..." the person whispered.

" Naoko? " Akira said in disbelief, he gently removed himself from her grasp and turned to face her looking astonished.

" What are you doing here ? " he asked eyeing the ticket and bags that she had with her curiously.

Naoko smiled up at him through tearing eyes " Just making sure you took what you left behind..."

Akira blinked confusedly.

" Me..." she whispered with a tear slowly making it's way down her cheeks.

Akira's face softened and he wiped the tear away gently.

He locked eyes with her, and Naoko felt her heart start to pound hard and rapidly in her chest at the many emotions she found glowing within the beautiful, blue-grey pools.

" Naoko...I love you " he said softly.

Her eyes widened at this confession, her mouth opening as she struggled to think of some reply, but his thumb caressing sweetly over her lips drove whatever words she would have spoken right out of her mind.

And then his face was drawing closer, his eyes slip closed, and in another moment, Naoko felt the very real, very solid pressure of warm, soft lips coming to rest tenderly against her own.

For the very first time in her life Naoko didn't feel like running away, the disgust that usually swelled inside her when someone kissed her was completely gone...

His kiss not only consumed her lips, but her mind, leaving her unable to utter a coherent thought, her body paralyzed in a mist of emotions that she couldn't even begin to decipher.

His hands slowly slid down and wrapped around her waist, pulling her more close to him as the kiss deepened further, the passion behind it making her go weak in the legs.

Slowly, they ended the kiss and pulled back. He leaned his forehead against hers and sighed silently. Her fingers intertwined at the nape of his neck, her touch making his skin tingle with a burning cold.

She looked at him, her brown eyes searching through him " You love me ?" she asked astonished.

He kissed her forehead gently " Yes "

Naoko bit her lip " I...I don't know what to say Akira.. " she said softly.

" Don't worry " Akira said brushing her cheeks tenderly " I'd never rush you into anything... I'll wait until you're ready for this. But, until then, I promise I'll do my very best to make you fall in love with me. "

With this said Akira pulled back from her and gently took her hand in his.

# " Last call for boarding Flight 457 heading for New York " # a woman announced in the speakers.

Akira smiled cheekily " Now then, let's go eat some bad food and watch a lame movie ! " he declared.

Naoko laughed " You're impossible ! " she said slipping her arms around his.

As they made their way towards the flight Naoko reflected upon her time in the show.

' I guess coming here was for the best... I got to meet a wonderful person like Akira, who even fell in love with me.. ' she thought with a dark blush.

' I have to thank Syaoran for all this, If it weren't for him I wouldn't have come here and Akira would've gone off to New York without confessing his feelings for me... Syaoran really is a nice guy, though Sakura would say otherwise '

Naoko's smiled as she looked at Akira through the corner of her eyes ' I hope you find happiness as I did Sakura... I wish you and Syaoran would soon realise that you are meant to be together...'

**OoOoOoOoO**

Since Naoko had fled the ceremony, there was only one girl that didn't receive a rose, Ashley.

After a tearful parting from her, the girls had gone off to their room-hall with Shiefa in tow, who briefly explained why Naoko had quit the show.

" What Naoko did was so romantic ! " Kasumi squealed starry eyed.

Airo smiled " Didn't think it'll turn out this way... but they make a cute couple "

Sakura nodded " I'll really miss her though..."

' The last person to keep my sanity intact is gone now ' she thought dryly.

Kasumi giggled " I'm so pumped about the on-coming hometown date.. I can't wait to introduce Syaoran to my family "

Sakura frowned " Home town dates? What's that ? "

" You don't even know about it ? " Airo asked with mild disgust.

Sakura scowled " No. What are they? " she asked peevishly.

" Syaoran gets to visit each of our hometowns " Airo said mater-of-factly.

Kasumi nodded " Yeah. You get to show him around your town and then he'll meet your family"

Sakura paled visibly. " Meet my f-family? " she asked meekly.

Kourin nodded " Yeah, and he'll dine with them and see if they like him or not "

Sakura already knew the answer to that. Syaoran would easy get along with her dad, he seemed to genuinely like her father when he was in his fourth grade, during the card captoring days. But her brother...

Sakura shuddered, she can't imagine how he'd react on seeing Syaoran again.

Airo sighed dreamily " I'm going to cook him dinner. You know what they say, 'A way to a man's heart is through his stomach ' "

Kourin scoffed " Puh-lease, through his _stomach? _Gurl, you're aiming a little high " she said with a sly grin.

" Aim is high? What's lower than the stomach is..." Sakura trailed off and blushed furiously.

" HENTAI (pevert)! " Kasumi said between peels of laughter.

Airo giggled " But I must say, I like her version of the saying better "

Kourin grinned "Obviously "

A/n:- As to why Naoko didn't decide to go with Akira in the pond scene, It's because she's a girl with so many insecurities, and so it took her sometime to act upon her feelings. Refer to chap 10 and see, you'll understand further. This chap didn't have much Syaoran/Sakura, but now that we have Naoko/Akira out of the way we can refocus on them...

Here's something that'll hopefully pass off as a peace offering for my delay in update...

**Sneak-preview of next chapter : -**

" Let's go " she said in an overly-loud voice, looking away from him quite deliberately. " What do you think about going to the Penguin park? Or to our Elementary school? You know, to look around places you once saw. Or maybe visit the Tomoeda shrine. Or how about we catch a movie? Or maybe -"

"Are you okay?" Syaoran interrupted Sakura's nervous babbling in a loud voice of his own.

" Me? Oh, I'm fine! Don't worry about me! Yeah, there's nothing to worry about! Why, do I look like I need someone to worry about me? Do I look pale or something? Because I'm fine. I really am. Yup. I'm -"

She was interrupted once again by Syaoran's index finger lightly touching her lips. A warmth seeped from his finger and spread to her lips and throughout her entire body, like a wave of emotion.

Sakura closed her eyes.

A/N:-that's all you get... I'll update soon ...Ja ne!


	16. Trip to Tomoeda

**Disclaimer**:- Yeah, yeah. Read previous ones. Pah.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chap, I'd like to thank u personally but I don't have the time. I updated thisfast since I had already written this chap.

Chapter 16: Trip to Tomoeda

**A thought often makes us hotter than a fire.**

' Is she alright ? ' Syaoran furrowed his eyebrows as he eyed Sakura. They were sitting inside the first class of Flight 450 heading to Tomoeda.

" Something wrong ? " he asked her.

" N-no" Sakura said nervously.

Syaoran sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, and that's why your knuckles are whiter than that cloud over there." he pointed across the closed window of the airplane towards the sky.

Sakura had to admit that she clenched the armrest a little tighter than necessary as they picked up speed along the runway and one of her hands were braced against her stomach.

"What's the matter ?" he teased. "Scared ?"

" I feel like I left my stomach back at the airport. " she said pitifully.

Syaoran chuckled "Wait till you eat the food, you'll wish you _had_ left your stomach back there "

Sakura groaned " You're not helping ! ".

30 minutes later...

" God, You look awful " Syaoran cried loudly. " You're green !"

" Shut up " Sakura snapped and glared at him " I'm air sick, that's all and.. " she sniffed. " Is that bacon.. ?"

" And eggs and chips and fried toast with sausages and... where are you going? " he asked startled.

Sakura had suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth and made a dash to the back of the plane

Syaoran, not remembering to care what on earth the people outside thought, followed Sakura. He was more concerned with the fact that she looked sicker than before.

He saw her enter the toilet and found Sakura clutching the sink and retching.

" I hate..flights.." she mumbled to Syaoran as he stood beside her and held her hair up out of her face.

" Well then you shouldn't have gotten sick." he told her gently.

Sakura groaned and succumbed to another wave of sickness.

" It might help if you ate some fruit " he told her mildly.

The thought of food made her stomach clench, but funnily enough, thinking about fruit wasn't so bad.

" Why?" she asked tired and felt Syaoran release her hair, making them fall past her shoulders.

He was now rubbing her back gently to ease her sickness " They might help settle your stomach."

" Do they have fruits inside an airplane ? "

" I doubt it, but you can drink a juice. It helps too "

Well.. she was quite hungry " Ok. But if I start throwing up again, I'll aim at you." Sakura told him with a laugh.

" Now there's a pleasant thought " Syaoran answered dryly as he watched her rinse her mouth with a freshener she had in her purse.

When Sakura turned around to face him, they both became aware of how close they were standing to each other. They quickly sprang away from each other blushing furiously.

" W-we better get going " Sakura stuttered her voice an octave higher.

" Yeah, there are other people who'd want to use this facility " Syaoran joked lamely causing Sakura let out an awkward laugh.

He unlocked the door and they stepped out, only to be met with applauses, wolf whistles and hoots.

Sakura came out behind him and peered over his shoulder to see practically all passengers in the second class, cheering and winking at them.

They both frowned confusedly and then it hit them.

Sakura with her hair tousled, her skin flushed and Syaoran with his red tinged cheeks and his messy hair, gave off quite a picture.

Groaning inwardly, and trying to ignore the knowing looks sent their way, Sakura and Syaoran went quickly to the first class and sat down in their seats.

An hour passed by, during which Syaoran often shot Sakura concerned glances and enquired if she was feeling alright. Not quite satisfied with her answer, he ordered her a juice and some light healthy snacks, which Sakura enjoyed eating immensely.

The fact that Syaoran worried over her, filled her insides with warmth.

' I can't believe how nice he is to me ' she thought sleepily ' If only he'd be like this every-time. But then again... the thing that makes Syaoran so unique is his personality... I'd never try to change that...'

Quite satisfied with her decision (not quite awake enough to even realize what she decided ), Sakura snuggled into the soft pillow the air-hostess gave, as sleep finally rose to claim her senses.

The last thing she felt was a soft, feather light sensation across her forehead as a gentle voice murmured " Sleep well, Sakura "

**OoOoOoOoO**

"And after hearing Sakura's name, Tou-chan got all weird." Nakuru sniffled " He started pacing around and muttered to himself. Then he got this strange look in his eyes and shouted a loud ' GAKI ' "

Tomoyo stifled a giggle.

" He said something about how he'd pound him and that's when I really thought he went mad. So I sort of..." Nakuru looked guilty " smashed a vase over his head. "

Eriol winced eyeing the shattered vase on the ground " It must've hurt "

Nakuru shook her head " I know where to hit, I used to work as a nurse remember ? "

" Believe it or not but he has an extremely thick skull. He was still conscious after the vase smashed, so I had to hit him with a chair " she gestured to the broken pieces of mahogany wood lying near the vase.

Tomoyo laughed " Poor Touya-san... is he alright ? "

Nakuru smiled weakly " Just a bit out cold since yesterday... "

A big groan came from the couch. They snapped their heads towards the voice.

Touya was holding his head. " What happened? My head feels like it's going to explode..."

He got up from the couch with a fierce scowl, and noticed the three people standing in his house.

" What are you guys doing here ? " he asked gruffly.

In the blink of an eye, he found himself wrapped in Nakuru's arms as she hugged him tightly. Her whole body was trembling as she told him over and over on how she was worried and that she was very sorry.

Startled, Touya patted her head in a consoling way, although he had no idea what she was being sorry about.

All he remembered was preparing her breakfast for Nakuru and saying something along the line of I've heard that name somewhere before... What name he heard and everything else after that was a total blank.

" What's going on ? " he asked her gently.

Nakuru opened her mouth to speak but Tomoyo cut her off "You fell from the stairs and passed out Touya-san"

Touya blinked " I passed out ? "

Eriol nodded " Since yesterday morning... "

Touya blanched "I was out cold for the whole day? " he said astonished " And how exactly did I fall ?"

Nakuru released him and fidgeted under his gaze " You tripped "

" Must be that furball fluffy." he murmured frowning thoughtfully.

" I'm gonna get rid of that cat even if Kaijuu kills me for it " he added, a reluctant smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he thought of the bubbly voice of his sister.

They watched as he went over to take some aspirin for his headache.

Touya came back looking much better " I'm late for work " he grunted " Keep the keys under the doormat when you guys go out "

He shot them a suspicious look and headed towards the door, only to be pounced by Nakuru.

"Akizuki not now " he said in exasperation.

" Just wishing you a good day at work, Tou-chan " she said gently and released him.

Rolling his eyes and smiling slightly, Touya got in his car and sped off.

The three of them let out a big sigh as they settled themselves on the couch.

" We did it.." Eriol said with a smile.

Tomoyo giggled " For a minute there I thought we'd be busted. "

Nakuru frowned " But he'd meet Syaoran eventually... I mean Sakura does have to stay here you know "

" Yes, but Sakura's dad would be there. So I don't think Touya would do anything funny " Tomoyo said grinning.

" But Kinomoto-san said he was going out for two days... " Nakuru trailed off.

Tomoyo sweatdropped " Oh dear "

Eriol groaned " This is just not our day "

**OoOoOoOoO**

" Sakura..." someone shook her.

She mumbled incoherently and buried her face deep into a warm pillow.

"Sakuraa...wake up " the voice commanded in a gentle tone.

" Five more minutes..." she mumbled snuggling her head and clutching around the pillow tightly.

She sighed contentedly and listened to the rhythmic beating coming from inside the pillow.

' Since when did pillows have heart beat ? ' she frowned and opened her sleepy eyes to lock with deep amber ones.

" You can cuddle me later Sakura, we're about to land " Syaoran told her, eyes lit up in mirth.

Sakura withdrew from him quickly, her face tinged pink, but all color washed out when she realised what Syaoran had just said.

Gulping a little in fear, Sakura closed her eyes tightly and braced herself for the landing.

She felt something warm slid over her hands and peered her eyes open to see Syaoran's fingers entwined in hers.

" Don't worry " he told her giving her a reassuring squeeze and Sakura smiled at him gratefully.

It's quite amazing, how two simple words can make a person feel better. The flight landed and soon people were exiting.

"God, that was a looong journey " Sakura grumbled " I think my bum's gone numb."

" I can rub some feeling back into it, if you'd like." Syaoran suggested with a grin.

Sakura scowled and tried to hit him on the head with her purse.

He dodged and laughed " What? It was an innocent suggestion "

Sakura huffed " Stop being a baka and let's go " she said and dragged him off the plane.

Syaoran entered the airport feeling the vague sense of deja-vu. It was just like he remembered...Shiny white floors, black escalators, see-through glasses and people scurrying everywhere.

Sakura smiled " I can't wait to see everyone. Dad, Nakuru, Yukito... - "

A look of annoyance flashed briefly across Syaoran's face as she mentioned Yukito. He knew how she had a crush on him back in fourth grade...

"- and Oni-chan (brother)" she finished.

Before coming going on the flight, Sakura had warned Syaoran to behave properly towards her big brother. When he started protesting, she wentas far as to threatening him with bodily harm.

This shut him up immediately, he knew Sakura would be more than happy to kick his shins when opportunity presented itself.

" I can't believe I actually have to see that guy again " mumbled Syaoran, thinking about her over-protective brother.

" What was that ? " Sakura asked sweetly, although her expression was otherwise.

" I said, I can't believe pie actually have poo that die again " Syaoran said rolling his eyes.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. " Wha...? "

" I know, isn't it unbelievable? " he asked with a grin.

Sakura sweatdropped. " Hoee.."

**OoOoOoOoO**

Syaoran's eyes were glued onto the road ahead of him, the road that one would imagine would lead them to heaven, so heavenly white it glowed.

He cursed silently, how he wished it would. They were walking down the streets of Tomoeda, towards Sakura's house.

On the way, Sakura pointed to a clearing and started explaining how Yukito had taught her to ride a bicycle in this place.

' What did I do to deserve this ? ' he thought with a scowl.

His scowl deepened, as Sakura told him how Yukito had carried her in his arms when she fell off the bike.

" That's great " he spat out bitterly.

Sakura frowned " Is something wrong ? "

" Nothing. Now can we get a move on " he said with all traces of rudeness.

" Fine " Sakura said irritated. ' What's gotten into him ? '

The sky seemed to reflect their mood, as it clouded over slightly showing all signs of an oncoming snowfall.

She was walking ahead of him, and refused to even talk to him for his previous attitude. The winds were picking up and Sakura tried not to shiver at the coldness.

" You should've dressed more warmly " she heard Syaoran chastise her from behind. " Take my coat, you'll freeze to death at this rate "

Sakura ignored him and walked ahead.

" Are you going deaf ? I told yo-"

" I heard what you said " Sakura snapped " My house is just a block away, I'll be fine "

Syaoran glared at her back " You'll get sick again, quit being so childish and take my coat "

Sakura paused and turned around " And when was the last time you weren't immature ? " she shot back.

Sparks flew briefly between their eyes, and before they could start having any other arguments a loud squeal startled them both into snapping their heads to the front.

" KAWAII (cute)! "

A tall young woman with long grey-black hair was holding a video camera. Next to her was a man with dark blue hair, wearing silver-rimmed glasses looking amusedly at the scene before him.

" Tomoyo-chan ! Eriol-kun ! " Sakura shrieked and ran towards her best friends engulfing them in a big hug.

" I'm so happy to see you guys! " she said releasing them and smiled at the pair.

" Nice to see you again Dadouiji-san " Syaoran said coming over and standing beside Sakura.

Tomoyo smiled at him " Nice to see you too, Li-san "

His eyes narrowed at the sight of Eriol " And who are _you_ supposed to be ? "

" I am Eriol Hiragizawa.. " Eriol noted the fierce glare on his face " Tomoyo's boyfriend " he added slyly.

Something seemed to go off deep inside Syaoran " Oh "

Tomoyo hid a grin, as she recorded all this.

Eriol extended his hand towards Syaoran, which he shook a bit hesitantly. " It's nice to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you from Sakura "

Syaoran blinked ' Sakura told him about me?'

He looked at her through the corner of his eyes and fought down a smile at her expression. Her eyes were wide, mouth opening and closing as she struggled to tell something.

" That's a very good imitation of a fish " he told her smirking.

Sakura flushed a little " Shut up "

But Syaoran continued teasing her " So you've been talking about my charming self to your friends in Japan, eh ? I'm touched " he said with a wink.

Sakura rolled her eyes and smiled" Well, I suppose you do have a certain charm that I just _have_ to tell people "

His eyes widened slowly, was she complimenting him?

" - like your sick sense of humor, and not to mention your pig-headedness. I particularly had a fun time telling Eriol, how I'd like to see you choke and die on a piece of pineapple "

" Ouch, that hurts " Syaoran exaggerated and faked a wounded expression clutching his heart.

" Good " Sakura said, her previous anger towards him dissipating rapidly.

Tomoyo giggled " Let's go to your house Sakura. We'll talk there "

**OoOoOoOoO**

Nakuru served them all warm coffee as they sat around the hall.

" So what are you guys doing here ? " Sakura questioned eyeing Tomoyo and Eriol curiously.

Eriol smiled " Since we saw most of the places in Alps, we decided to end the trip "

Sakura, being known for her extreme achievements in the field of being dense swallowed the whole thing up, but Syaoran was slightly suspicious.

"And you just happened to decide this when we were coming here.. " he stated dubious.

Tomoyo sweatdropped " A bizarre coincidence, huh ? " she said laughing nervously.

Syaoran quirked a smile " Very..."

" Hoe ? " Sakura blinked at them confused.

Syaoran rolled his eyes " I'm going to take a hot shower, where's the bathroom ? " he asked standing up.

" Two doors from my room " Sakura answered and saw him walking towards the stairs "You remember where my room is ?" she asked stunned.

Syaoran turned to face her and shrugged " It's a little hard to forget my time here thanks to the Change Card mix up. I _was_ stuck as the stuffed animal you know "

"And besides " he added with a mischievous smile " I can hear screams of PINK from up there, so I figured that's where your room is "

He laughed at her outraged expression and climbed the stairs, carrying his light weighted bag.

Sakura fumed and gritted her teeth " He's unbearable ! "

" But you like him anyway " Tomoyo said slyly, while recording everything on camera and was given the satisfaction of watching Sakura turn a little pink.

"A-are you crazy ! " she stuttered " I don't like him ! "

" You may think so, at the moment. But sooner or later, the two of you won't be able to deny your passionate feelings for each other " Tomoyo said matter-of-factly.

Nakuru nodded " And when that time comes, the two of you will get together like that." With those words, she snapped her fingers.

Sakura's eyebrows had risen higher and higher with each word they had uttered, so that now they had disappeared behind her bangs.

As they grinned at her, Sakura took a deep breath and hissed: " Passionate feelings? Have you guys been watching those cheesy romance flicks again ?"

Nakuru smiled sheepishly, and mumbled: " Just once in a while "

Sakura rolled her eyes.

Eriol grinned slyly " Well, look at the time girls ! Don't we have that important thing we should finish ?"

Nakuru frowned "What importan- " she received a sharp kick from Tomoyo, swallowing down a yelp she managed a tight smile on her face " Oh! yeah I forgot about that ! "

Tomoyo grinned " We'll come back a little later then, Sakura-chan "

" But -" Sakura was interrupted by Nakuru.

She winked at her and shot an inconspicuous look towards the stairs " I've heard lovers like being alone "

Sakura's jaws dropped " What !" She could only watch stunned, as her friends went outside waving her good-bye.

Sighing, she plopped herself on the couch. ' Might as well watch something on T.V '

" Urgh, too boring " Sakura said as she saw a kids show going on.

She changed the channel " Too cheesy "

CLICK " No" CLICK " Eww " CLICK " Not this either " CLICK " Nope "

" If you press any harder, you'd end up breaking the remote " a husky voice whispered behind her ear making her jump in surprise.

"S-syaoran! You baka, don't do that ! " Sakura yelled placing a hand over her chest, to soothe down her rapid heart beat.

" Sorry. So, you're getting bored already ? " he asked raising an eyebrow.

Sakura sighed " Nakuru, Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun went out saying they had to finish doing something. And there's nothing good on T.V.. "

Syaoran came in front of her " Let's go out then, I haven't been here for the past 13 years "

" Sounds good " Sakura smiled at him.

" Wear something warm, will you? I don't like seeing you shivering in the cold " he grumbled with a scowl.

Sakura laughed and grabbed a thick coat from the stand and roughly put it on herself.

" Happy ? " she asked coming near him.

Syaoran smiled gently and straightened her collar " Very much " he answered looking into her eyes.

His eyes were dark embers of fire and wood, and Sakura felt herself begin to drown in those fiery amber orbs.

" Let's go " she said in an overly-loud voice, looking away from him quite deliberately. " What do you think about going to the Penguin park? Or to our Elementary school? You know, to look around places you once saw. Or maybe visit the Tomoeda shrine. Or how about we catch a movie? Or maybe -"

"Are you okay?" Syaoran interrupted Sakura's nervous babbling in a loud voice of his own.

" Me? Oh, I'm fine! Don't worry about me! Yeah, there's nothing to worry about! Why, do I look like I need someone to worry about me? Do I look pale or something? Because I'm fine. I really am. Yup. I'm -"

She was interrupted once again by Syaoran's index finger lightly touching her lips. A warmth seeped from his finger and spread to her lips and throughout her entire body, like a wave of emotion.

Sakura closed her eyes. She seemed afraid to move away or do much else, and he felt very much the same way.

" Sakura ?" he said softly, in an attempt to break her out of the trance she'd fallen into, and the trance he was falling into as well.

" Mm ? " she wasn't really paying attention.

Her lips were so warm and soft beneath his fingers... An unexplainable emotion rippled through him as he continued looking at her.

Syaoran felt himself leaning forward ' What are you doing to me, Sakura... ? '

Just as his lips grazed hers lightly, the front door opened with a loud bang, causing them to jump startled.

Sakura's hands flailed out as she lost her balance, and she managed to grab onto Syaoran thus pulling him on top of her as she fell down on the couch.

" Hey Akizuki are you still here? Then could you ge-" Touya's voice died in his throat and he stiffened taking in the scene before him.

Sakura, his little baby sister, was lying down on the couch legs sprawled and top of her was a brown haired guy with his hands around her side and face buried in her chest.

" O-oni chan, t-this isn't what it looks like ! " Sakura cried out desperately as they quickly detangled from one another blushing fiercely. "S-syaoran fel- "

That did it. The key word to recover Touya from his temporary shock.

Within 10 seconds that followed this name, the silent atmosphere that surrounded the street of Tomoeda was badly broken.

A loud cry of ' GAKI ' was heard in the neighborhood, followed quickly by a string of colorful curses that made some of the unfortunate passerby's cringe.

**A/N**: I don't have the time for review replies, my exams in two days.. gotta study..


	17. A day of surprise

**Disclaimer**: You still don't get it do you? Duh, I don't own CCS.

A Big Thanks to :-ForevernAlwayz, Tella , IS2Cookies, tam224ara, CherryFreakyFunK, Kayapride, Chloena, arela, kriztalstar91, Cherry Blossom02, lilylisa31, VampireJazzy, il0verice, LadyAkina, MunChixD, Sakume Nohara, i-love-vash, cherrysakura5, CherryIzzy, wemsicles , youkaigirl64, x3Dorky-Candee, Heaven wouldn't take me and Hell was afraid I would take over, sakusyao , Unknown, Low/Astrum, teenureen, JadeStarDragon, BriAnna, chikichiki, faraaah, Yami Umi, Roxy, Pinaygrrl, white-cracker, sakura-yoshino, Kim, animeroxmyworld, candy-chan-chan, Hopeless Maiden, Kimiko5, totally-spaz, xsnowx , yukyungtang, joanne , kawaii-fairy-emma , xxxChIhArUxxx, Pwned., meow-mix23, 3musketteers , Hououza, a little someone, may may-chan, phoenix.tearx, Betrayed Innocence, kia twee, blah , hopeluv-chan, asiangirl668, bluexfieryxangel, Inkirietta, cherryblossomchick12, Mei Kimari, iliea, kat, islandsdreams, DarkGothGirl, angelic-kuti, SerenityMelody and Sakura-Moonlight for reviewing last chapter.

**A/N:- A few things u should know: **

**1) **Tomoyo will not video tape Saku and Syao's date, I thought that'd be interrupting their privacy. But she did record their time together when they arrived.

**2)** There will be magic in this fic... but I'm not telling u guys when, it'll ruin the suspense **:P**

**3)** Kero will not show up. He'll just keep interrupting precious SS moments and seriously, who's gonna pay for all the food he eats? I think he is an inconvenience and so he's sealed inside the book.

**4) This is the most important thing u should know**... when u finish reading a chapter, always REVIEW ! They make the author happy **:P**

Chapter 17:- A day of Surprise.

Touya clutched his throbbing jaw and exchanged a heated glare with Syaoran who now sported a faint black eye.

" How can you two be so immature ! " Sakura snapped glaring at them " Fist fighting in the middle of the hall !"

Nakuru nodded her agreement. She had seen Touya's car from her house and had rushed to Sakura's sensing trouble.

" Don't blame this on me, he's the one who started it ! What was I supposed to do? Stand there and get beaten up ? " Syaoran asked peevishly.

" You were on top of my baby sister, gaki.! " Touya shouted.

" It's not what you think, Onii-chan! " Sakura said scowling fiercely at him " I got startled when you opened the door so loud and grabbed Syaoran as I fell down on the couch "

An amused smirk came onto Syaoran's lips " So... technically this is all your fault "

Touya narrowed his eyes " You should be glad you're alive gaki, I could've punched the living day lights out of you "

" Like to see you try " Syaoran shot back.

" Why you littl-" Touya was stopped from lunging at him again, as Nakuru stood between them.

" Enough ! " she said sharply, and pointed an imperious finger at a surprised Syaoran " You. Put some ice over your eye, Sakura help him out. And Touya, "

She looked at him seriously "- we need to talk. Let's go "

Touya could only blink in astonishment as Nakuru dragged him outside. He noted with a start that she had called him by his real name, not Tou-chan or Touya-kun as she normally does.

They stopped near the gates.

" What do you want to talk about, Akizuki? And could you hurry up, I left my sister alone with that gaki " Touya grumbled and shot a glare towards the window from where he could see Syaoran sitting.

" Do you remember that reality show I wanted to see the other day ? " she asked him.

"Yeah... It was called The Bachelor or something " he replied frowning thoughtfully.

" I suppose I explained about the show right? " at his nod she continued " Well, Sakura's in it " she stated calmly.

" WHAT !"

' So that's why the gaki is here...he is practically dating my sister ' Touya thought narrowing his eyes.

" That Chinese gaki ! I'm going to- " he began furious.

" - stay out of their way " She interrupted firmly.

His sharp gaze fell on her " What ?"

" You're going to stay out of their way, Touya. I want Sakura-chan to have a good time with Li-san in Tomeda and I'm not going to let you get in the middle of this "

" But... its the gaki ! " he declared, as if it should be the most obvious reason in the world for Nakuru to reconsider her previous statement.

" So ? What if it's Li ? " she asked raising an eyebrow.

Touya muttered something.

" Build a bridge and get over it ! " Nakuru snapped, hands on her hip. " He's not the same guy he was 13 years ago and besides when Sakura-chan struggled to transform the clow cards even you wished Li-san was with her didn't you ?"

He flinched involuntarily at her tone, she was starting to sound like Ruby moon.

Her eyes softened " Please Touya, listen to me. He's not as bad as you think he is. Just give him a chance ok ? Atleast for Sakura-chan.."

Touya knew without a doubt that he'd never like the gaki, not with all their history back in the card captoring days. But if his sister had no problem being around the Chinese brat then he'd respect her wishes.

' But...' a small smirk covered his lips ' that doesn't mean I can't threaten him '

He thinned his lips and nodded his head. Then without saying anything else he headed back towards the house.

" What took you so long ? " Sakura questioned him curiously.

Ignoring his sister, Touya glared at Syaoran and hissed: " If you look any lower than her face or get within six feet of her, then you're a dead man. Understood ? "

Syaoran glared back at him in response.

Touya smiled viciously, then, stuffing his hands into his pockets, said in a friendlier tone: " That's good. I'm going off to work now. I'm sure nothing will happen while I'm gone...right? "

Sakura rolled her eyes " Oni-chan ! "

As Touya went past Syaoran, pretending to need a drink of water, he spoke in a volume that only they both could hear.

" Don't hurt her. If you do...you'll regret it " Touya stated in a mild voice, although the thread of steel running through the words proved how deceptive his tone was.

The lack of response did not faze him, nor did it surprise him. Deciding to leave it at that, Touya strided towards the door.

He playfully ruffled his sisters hair on his way out.

" See you later Kaijuu " he told her and quickly stepped outside before Sakura could give him a foot stomp.

As he got near his car a tentative voice spoke from behind him: " You're not mad at me are you...? "

Touya turned around to see Nakuru, standing nervously in front of him.

" No, Although I am a bit surprised you acted that way..." he told her amused. " And Akizuki ? "

"Yes..."

" Never call me Touya "

Nakuru blinked at him, from the very first day she met him, he had always told her not to call him by any pet-names... quite the opposite of what he had just said right now.

" This seems to be a day of surprises isn't it ? " Touya said wryly voicing out her thoughts.

" I bet it's snowing in Hell right now.." he muttered to himself.

A corner of his mouth lifted into a smile and she stared back at him, entranced by the genuine smile that graced his lips. They stayed like that for a bit, black eyes gazing deep into maroon.

If they were two completely different people, the situation that they were currently in would have been considered fairly intimate: the wind blowing coolly, Touya and Nakuru less than half a meter away from each other, and eyes staring deep within the other person's.

If they were any two different people, Touya would have leaned in slowly and would softly place a lingering kiss on Nakuru' lips. They would slowly break apart, smiling shyly at one another.

But nothing between them had changed that drastically.

No strange feelings or desires to kiss the other person passed through any of their minds. No sudden realizations that they loved each other occurred.

Instead, they had a gentle warmth that engulfed their insides, a feeling of understanding the other.

Finally breaking the eye contact, Touya sighed " It's getting late " he stated.

A slight nod from Nakuru.

" I better get to work "

Another nod.

He opened his car and paused. " Say, are you free tonight ? "

" Yes.. "

" Dinner at 9,Sundown-cafe ? " he asked raising an eyebrow.

" Ok " she answered and waved good-bye as he sped off.

Sure, the way he asked her out wasn't done in the most romantic way possible. Not even close one would say, but it was good enough for her.

She knew that Touya had an astounding degree of control over his emotions and after years of being around him , she had learnt that actions sometimes spoke louder than words...

She had a deep feeling that somewhere along the events of today, their relationship had altered. It was slight, but even so, it was still a change.

Whether it would grow and give way to deeper romantic feelings was a question she had no answer for. But she was willing to take the chance and find out...

**OoOoOoOoO**

Nakuru entered the hall, and was amused to say the least to see the legendary ego-clash between Sakura and Syaoran.

" I'm not going to wear make up over my eyes ! " Syaoran said in outrage.

" You can't go around looking like that " Sakura shot back pointing to his black eye " It's disgusting ! "

She cleared her throat purposefully and brought their attention.

" You guys better get going, or you won't be able to see most of the places " she said with a smile.

Sakura sighed " I bet the camera's will follow us everywhere..."

She scowled at the prospect of the cameraman asking them annoying questions at the end. They had been lucky in the last date, due to the festival that took place in the village the camera's weren't allowed inside.

" Don't worry about that Sakura, Tomoyo made sure they won't come anywhere near your place" Nakuru said with a grin.

Sakura smiled " Great! So at what time should we come back?" she questioned curiously " Syaoran is supposed to dine with Touya and dad.. "

" Sorry Sakura-chan, but Kinomoto-san won't be back for the next two days and Touya " her cheeks tinged pink " is taking me out to dinner "

" Thank god..." Syaoran muttered to himself but Sakura apparently heard it.

" What was that ? " she asked narrowing her eyes at him.

Nakuru could literally feel the hair on her skin prickle at the invisible sparks that flew between them, thick and palpable.

The magnitude of what she was witnessing between Sakura and Syaoran stunned her. One has to Deaf, Blind and Dumb not to notice the explosive chemistry between them.

What they had, Nakuru mused, was something that can only be found within the pages of a romance novel, the kind of thing most people spent their lifetimes searching for.

It promised white-hot intensity and endless passion, they both were a deadly combination of Fire and Ice.

His darkness to her light...

Shaking her head to clear the thoughts, Nakuru ushered them outside telling not to waste more time, before an all-out tongue lash broke out.

A tiny smile crept onto her face as she watched them go. With couples as unique as them, one can always expect spectacular fireworks...

**OoOoOoOoO**

After visiting some of the card-captor adventure filled places of Tomoeda, Sakura and Syaoran had caught a train to Tokyo to see the infamous tower.

As luck would have it, they were not the only people interested in visiting Tokyo Tower. It seemed like half of Tokyo's population had turned up with the same idea.

' I don' believe this.' Sakura thought peeved ' They don't even look like tourists! It's almost as if everyone within a fifteen mile radius suddenly decided that they just _had_ to admire the view of the entire city from up there'

Syaoran seemed to sense her anger and chuckled slightly. "Crowded isn't it ? " he said trying to aggravate her a bit.

She did not disappoint him, and he soon found himself the receiver of a glare so lethal that any other man would have been castrated on the spot.

" Of all the days they could come, they chose today! And it's not even the holiday season ! " she grumbled, glancing around with a scowl.

" Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. " she admitted grudgingly " What if we get separated- Itai! HEY! " she stumbled as someone pushed past her, hitting her arms in the process.

Her eyes widened considerably as Syaoran grabbed her hand to steady her.

Syaoran raised an eyebrow at her dazed expression " You're either planning to murder me, or having dark fantasies " he teased " And humor me by saying it's the latter. "

" Former " she said and turned her head away, ignoring the slight pink that washed over her face.

" Ouch " he placed his hand over his heart as if stabbed.

Sakura rolled her eyes " Well...it's impossible to get in there. So we'll just have to go somewhere else "

Syaoran nodded and together they set off to the busy streets of Tokyo. They chatted and bickered away during most of the time, since Sakura had insisted on doing some window shopping.

It was just like the time they had come here with Meilin and Tomoyo during The Dream Card capture.

They decided to take a short break.

Sakura sat down on a bench and sipped her tea " How is Meilin-chan ? "

Syaoran smiled fondly as he recalled his cousin " She's fine. After I went back to China, we both studied till the end of high school. Then she moved away to Shanghai for college. Now she's working there..."

Sakura cocked her head to the side curiously " Didn't Meilin-chan want to marry you ? Then how come you're in this show ? "

Syaoran shrugged " I guess when we dated, she realised that I was more like a brother to her than a lover. So we decided to end it... "

Sakura smirked " Or in other words, she dumped you and moved onto a cute guy "

" She didn't dump me ! " he snapped " We came to an understanding "

" Uh-huh, sure. Keep telling yourself that " Sakura said amused.

Syaoran's eye twitched in irritation and he drank his tea shooting her a poisonous glare.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The sun had plunged downward into the west. Small amount of crimson and violet light rays were still visible in the sky, the night clouds reflected them with a soft, warm glow.

" My feet hurt " Sakura complained. " We've been walking all day !"

Syaoran attempted to check his watch " Not all day " he corrected " Just for the past 2 hours. " he said coolly.

They were walking towards Tokyo's most famous park, Ueno.

" Are you still surly about what I said ? " Sakura asked raising an eyebrow.

Syaoran thinned his lips and walked ahead, his pose rigid.

Sakura scowled " Will you stop it ! I apologize to you didn't I ? "

" Yes, you did. Now quit whining we're almost there " he said in the same detached tone.

" I'm not whining " she retorted. " I was voicing my opinion. And my feet still hurt."

Then, without the slightest warning, Syaoran turned and stalked towards her. Sakura yelped as he lifted her up and tossed her over one shoulder.

" What are you doing ? Put me down, you baka ! " Sakura cried startled.

" Since your feet hurts, I'm going to carry you " he answered with a smirk.

" It doesn't hurt anymore ! " she snapped. " Put me down ! "

Syaoran ignored her and continued walking as though she was weightless.

" People are staring at us " she said, her cheeks coloured with self-conscious embarrassment.

When Syaoran didn't answer her, Sakura began squirming and shifting from his grip in an attempt to get down.

" Now, now, now " he teased her with a crooked smile " Be a good girl and stay still Sakura, or else I'll have to _spank_ you "

Sakura paused in mid-struggle and her eyes widened as the implications of his words hit her.

" Y-you.. you wouldn't ! "

" I won't be too sure about that if I were you " he taunted.

Sakura scowled " This is crazy, even for your standards. You never do things the normal way, do you? "

" Of course not. "

**OoOoOoOoO**

Syaoran set down a relieved if not slightly ticked out Sakura, as they reached the gates of Ueno Park.

They followed the main path way, lined on the sides with leaf-less and snow covered Cherry blossom trees, and went southward form the promenade which branched off from there.

A big willow tree loomed ahead of them, overlooking a large pond which could easily pass of as a lake.

Sakura, to her immense joy, had found a swing that was near the tree and rushed towards it. Even at age 23, she had a fondness to sit on swings, she found the whole thing very relaxing.

Syaoran smiling slightly at her actions, sat down on the swing next to her.

Sakura tilted her head up towards the sky, though the lights in the city blocked out most of the stars, she was still able to see a few.

" That's where the Big Dipper should be " Syaoran said and pointed to a spot in the sky.

" How can you tell ?"

" My dad used to show me when I was a kid... " he said smiling fondly in remembrance.

Sakura's eye softened " Oh..."

" See those two stars? Those are the right side of the cup."

Sakura nodded and reached down to pull a long piece of grass that was growing on the ground.

She stretched it between her thumbs and blew. The only sound that Sakura produced was a pathetic little squeak.

He muffled his laughter and plucked a blade of his own. He blew on it and made a long, piercing whistle.

" Show off." Sakura said sticking out her tongue.

Syaoran smirked " Thank you."

They lapsed into silence and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere surrounding them.

" This place is beautiful " Sakura said dreamily.

Syaoran nodded " I can't think of any place I would rather be... except perhaps on top of you. " he added with a mischievous grin.

Sakura scowled " You say that again, and I might just unman you !"

He raised an eyebrow " Unman me? How will you do that ? "

Sakura smirked " A certain place where the male anatomy exists will be very, very sore if you talk like this any further... "

Syaoran grinned at her and stood up from the swing.

" Good " he said lips curling into a smirk " I don't think I've ever done it in a park before... "

Her face promptly turned at least six distinct shades of red until it finally settled at beet root.

" Hentai! " Sakura hissed angrily and made a move to hit him, he dodged and started running away grinning like a little school boy.

Sakura fumed and chased after him " Syaoran no baka! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I'll -"

He turned around and shot her a wink " Oooh, I am scared...but ready "

Sakura let out a frustrated yell and cursed him as he laughed and ran ahead of her.

**OoOoOoOoO**

After minutes of unsuccessful attempt to catch Syaoran, Sakura gave up. She grudgingly admitted that he was a fast runner than her.

Syaoran, who grew rather hungry took Sakura to one of Japan's most exclusive restaurants.

The setting of the eating area was decidedly cozy. A cheerful fire crackled and couples sat at tables, talking, smiling, doing what any normal couple would do.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him " What's swirling in that mind of yours? "

" Something you wouldn't want me to share " he answered with a grin.

" Probably mentally undressing that blonde over there.. " she mumbled to herself giving him an expression of disgust.

Syaoran laughed " You know, the whole male population doesn't only do that. There are other things that you can't share.. "

Sakura looked him skeptically " Like what ? "

Smiling crookedly, he leaned towards her giving the image that they were having an intimate conversation.

" You know, it's also very difficult to verbalize fantasies..." he whispered slyly and her face flushed pink.

" Urgh, Syaoran.. you're such a .jerk ! " she said as he drew back and grinned at her.

" Do you know how flattering you are? " he asked raising an eyebrow.

Sakura smirked " I know..I am much too kind "

Satisfied seeing the scowl on his face, Sakura took the menu. She gave one look at the prices listed in it and her mouth went dry.

' How can food cost this much ? ' she thought with a start.

She knew that Syaoran could very well afford all this.. but she felt uncomfortable letting him spend so much money for her.

Syaoran seemed to know what she was thinking and the corners of his mouth lifted upwards " The producers of the show got it all covered, don't worry. "

His amber eyes gleamed with silent amusement " I've heard this place is quite good that's why I came here. Maybe on the next date, we can go eat somewhere you choose..."

Sakura nodded, failing to notice the true meaning behind his last sentence.

A man came over to their table and after writing down their orders, he did a quick bow and hastily scuttled away.

While they waited for dinner to be served, Sakura noticed how quietly they had been sitting while the people around them chatted away.

" You're awfully silent... ran out of dirty thoughts? " She taunted him with a smile.

" Well, what thought seemed particularly _dirty_ to you, Sakura ? "

Seeing his wide sneaky grin, Sakura knew she was stuck. She scoffed at him and stuck her tongue out.

" How mature..." he said dryly.

Soon dinner was served and they ate away happily. After finishing, Syaoran ordered some deserts while Sakura settled herself for a hot cup of tea.

She gave an amused smile at his order, Chocolate mousse with caramel cream.

" I bet you were always getting cavities when you were young " Sakura stated.

Syaoran feigned offense and bared his even, flashing, white teeth in a way that distinctly reminded her of a chimpanzee, Sakura couldn't help but giggle at the thought.

" These magnificent pearls are not the work of a tooth fairy " he told her pompously.

Her shoulders shook with laughter, eyes sparkling in a way even emeralds couldn't and Syaoran found himself mesmerized by the sight of her.

Her cheeks were so smooth, and they led down to her mouth.

' What a nice path. I wouldn't mind going there...'

His eye widened at the thought and he mentally cursed himself as he looked away from Sakura, cheeks a suspicious shade of pink.

After they finished eating, the bill arrived.

Taking a glance at it, Syaoran quickly decided not to tell Sakura the price. He wasn't looking forward to carrying an unconscious girl in his arms.

As Sakura got up and made her way outside, she saw Syaoran courteously holding the door open for her.

She gave him a suspicious look and walked past him outside.

When Syaoran came outside, Sakura gave him a scowl.

" Okay, what do you want? "

Syaoran looked at her blankly. "What?"

" I know you want something."

" You do?"

She nodded decisively. "Yes, I do."

"Okay, then what is it that I want ?" Syaoran folded his arm and looked at her serenely.

Sakura frowned " What ?"

" You think I want something. Tell me what it is that you think I want."

" I don't think you want something. I KNOW you do."

He smirked "And how would you know that I want something?"

Sakura resisted the urge to throw her arms up " You held open the door and _waited _for me. You were being polite."

"And that's bad?"

" When _you're_ being polite, then yes, its bad "

Syaoran had an urge to laugh, his lips twitching, wanting to part and let out a sound of amusement. Instead, he leaned in and smiled looking down at Sakura.

" I am very much capable of being polite when I want to. One of the many good qualities that I have which makes me a gentleman " he boasted.

" Gentleman? " Sakura let out a snort and rolled her eyes " You're just a baka having a big ego..."

" Why Sakura" Syaoran tutted with a small smile.

" Can't you think of anything else I have that's probably as big as my supposed ego ? " he trailed off.

A fierce blush grazed her cheeks as her mind swerved off obligingly in the direction which his words pointed to.

" What's swirling in that mind of yours ? " Syaoran teased, throwing her own words back at her.

Sakura huffed indignantly and punched his arm. " Jerk "

Grinning down at her, his amber eyes sparkled with an odd emotion, heslowly wrapped his arm around her back and together they went along the sidewalk.

And to the many observers on the busy streets of Tokyo, they were the epitomical picture of a wonderfully happy couple.

A/N:-Ueno park does exist in Tokyo, but I don't know what it looks like.

**Touya/Nakuru: **Touya is not an emotional guy, I have rarely seen him smile on CCS. He isn't very forward either, so I think this is the way he'll ask Nakuru out. Hopefully as their relationship progress, Nakuru will have a good influence on him...**:P**

Review reply:-

**kriztalstar91**: Fluffy is Sakura's cat, I mentioned it in chap 14. I hope u read the author notes at the beginning. I decided to write one reading ur review. U r very observing, cuz I surely didn't see the typos. -Shakes head and laughs- god I'm embarrassed, I hate making typos but they just ..show up u know ? Hope u liked the chap. Ja ne.


	18. The Dream

**Disclaimer**:- Roses are red, Violets are blue, Syaoran can be a perv when he wants to, so there's nothing you can do...except maybe admire his cuteness.. **:P**. And no, I don't own him. Or Sakura. Or pretty much any other cannon characters in this fic. Sucks, huh?

A/N: **Read this: **In the middle of the first scene it gets slightly...oh, who am I kidding, it gets highly sensual and suggestive... so all you people out there who generally don't like this kinda stuff, skip it...you have been warned ! It's all in the name of raunchy humor really... **;P **

Chap 18:- The Dream.

It was about 10 PM when Touya came back from his dinner with Nakuru.

He smiled slightly, recalling the super sized portions Nakuru had happily consumed at dinner. She must have a really high metabolism- or a hollow left leg!

It was pretty amazing that someone so lean could tuck away that much food, but he honestly didn't mind Nakuru's healthy appetite at all. If truth be told, he actually found it refreshing.

What he didn't appreciate were females that made a big deal about having a salad because they were 'dieting', but then turned around and ate half of the food off his plate.

Grimacing at the memory of past dates gone bad, Touya opened the door and went in.

" I'm home Kaijuu " he said as he entered the hall.

Frowning at the lack of response, he made his way up the stairs and towards Sakura's room. He reached for the door knob to get in and check on his sister...

His hands froze mid way as he suddenly heard voices from inside the room.

" Harder, harder...oh Syaoran, harder.. "

All color drained from Touya's face.

" I'm trying Sakura... "

This statement, said in a very hoarse voice, was followed by a pant.

" Push harder ... "

" It's not that easy ! "

" Why not ? "

" This thing is big, that's why ! "

" No it's not, Syaoran."

" Yes it is " came the indignant reply.

" I've seen people having bigger ones... "

" Like who ? "

" Tomoyo. She has two of these actually..."

Touya's brain decided go on shut down mode on hearing this, his eyes rolled onto the back of his head and he promptly fell down on the floor with a loud thud.

Sounds of feet scrambling was heard from inside the room and the door unlocked to reveal, Sakura and Syaoran standing there both looking weary and out of breath.

Sakura gasped seeing her brother lying on the floor " Oni-chan ! Oh god, he's out-cold ! "

" Yeah.. I guess he is.." Syaoran said only half succeeding in hiding his glee.

Sakura scowled at him " Quit standing there, and help me carry him to his room ! "

Syaoran mimicked her voice " Help me move the couch Syaoran ! Help me carry my unconscious pain of a brother ! " He glared " Oh Suuuure, looove to ! And while I'm at it shall I help you balance your check book? Comb your hair and do your nails ? " he all but snarled.

Sakura narrowed her eyes in irritation " You insisted on moving the couch baka! It was your dumb idea anyway... "

" You're the one who complained about the room being small " he said crossing his arms over his chest " All I did was suggest that there'd be more space in your room if you moved the couch..."

"And the next thing I know " he continued with a cute pout " I'm roped in on this horrible scheme of yours, to push the couch all the way across the room... "

" How very evil of me " Sakura rolled her eyes " Now then, are you gonna help me or not ? " she said flinging her brother's right arm across her shoulders.

Syaoran grudgingly followed suit, and they dragged Touya to his room.

**OoOoOoOoO**

" Well, I better get going then.." Syaoran said tiredly as they came out from Touya's room, having placed him on the bed.

Syaoran had rented the apartment he used back in the fourth grade, to stay for his trip on Tomoeda. Sakura had invited him to stay in her house, but Syaoran had refused telling her that he wanted to revisit the place.

They passed by Sakura's room and Syaoran glanced inside to see a pink glow emanating from one of the drawers of her table.

He blinked ' Was that a blue butterfly that flew by ? '

Syaoran shook his head and glanced at the tables again and found everything in place as usual.

' I'm seeing things now... Just one day with the Kinomoto's and I'm going crazy ' he thought wryly.

Shrugging off the strange feeling gnawing at his mind, he went down the stairs and bid Sakura good-bye.

" Make sure you lock and bolt the door after I leave " He said seriously " You have no idea how many weirdos I've met running around out here back in the old days..."

Sakura laughed. " I will..." she added firmly seeing the warning glance of his eyes.

She watched him go down the street, until he disappeared out of view.

He was gone.

A bittersweet feeling welled in her chest, which Sakura tried to squash down as she went inside her house. She locked the door and made her way towards her room looking forward to a good night's sleep at her home.

Sakura snuggled into her pillow and closed her eyes shut.

Cherry blossom trees in full bloom were lined up perfectly on the left and right side, and she found herself standing in the middle of a stone path.

Sakura frowned glancing around her surroundings. ' Where am I ? '

Sounds of laughter filled her ears and she ran towards the source of voice.

A beautiful house loomed ahead of her and along side it a large pond with a few lily pads floating on the surface glimmered with sunlight.

Sakura walked towards the house and saw two figures standing in the shadows. They appeared to be engrossed in talking, and she noted with a start that their voices were awfully familiar.

Especially the male one that spoke " Gee thanks, a guy can use a ego boost from his wife once in a while "

" Ego boost? For you? Don't make me laugh. "

" I think you already did "

Sakura saw the wife slapping the guys arm playfully. " Don't act cute with me "

" I don't act cute...I already am "

The woman laughed " Dream on "

Before Sakura could go near enough to see their appearance the scene around her shifted.

Snow was pouring down heavily and she now found herself standing in an alley. Dark-red walls covered in snow were lined on each side and it was eerily quiet.

' What is this place ? '

She walked ahead and stepped out of the alleyway into a very wide and deserted street.

Suddenly there were loud foot-steps coming her way and she heard several shouts. Due to the intense snow fall all Sakura could see was a cream blur whizzing past the road, followed quickly by four more blurs.

It didn't take long for Sakura to understand that they were actually people. She followed them and caught up as they reached the dead end of another alley.

Insane laughter greeter her ears and she saw four men dressed in torn grey, blue, faded brown and black coats standing there with their backs facing her.

Behind them she could see the silhouette of someone wearing a cream dress in the far end of the dark alley, desperately searching for a way out.

" Give it up girly " one of the men said.

" I think we could get a pretty high price selling this one. She's quite the looker... "

This comment earned another round of laughter.

Fear gripped Sakura as she viewed the scene before her with wide eyes. ' What's going on? Who are these people ? What am I doing here? '

One of the men, possibly the group leader, stepped towards the entrance of the small alley.

" But first " he began in a lecherous tone " We'll have some fun with her..."

" Iiiiiiiiiieeeeeeee "

Sakura woke up with a start, her chest heaved up and down as sweat formed in her brows. She glanced around wildly and sighed relieved on seeing the familiar pink walls of her room.

" It was just a dream..." she murmured to herself.

She eyed the bright red digits of the clock... 6:00 A.M. Sighing she climbed out of the bed, intent on taking a shower to relax herself.

She recalled the last part of her dream and shuddered slightly... the entire scene had felt so real to her...

A question gnawed her mind as she made her way towards the bathroom. The scream that was heard at the end... it was definitely hers !

But the thing is... was it heard inside the dream ? Or did she just wake up screaming aloud ?

A bad feeling settled on her stomach, but Sakura ignored it.

' That was just a stupid nightmare... nothing to worry about..' she reassured herself repeatedly. 'Nothing to worry about..'

Perhaps if our dear card mistress had stayed behind her room, she might have reconsidered that thought.

For there, lying on top of the table, a Sakura-card glowed faintly in pink with it's front-side facing the ceiling..._The Dream._

**OoOoOoOoO**

It was breakfast time, and when Syaoran along with Tomoyo who he met on the way, had come to Sakura's house for the morning he was instantly greeted with sight of a cheerful Yukito hugging an equally cheerful Sakura.

Clearly, this was not the signs of a good day for our Bachelor.

It seems Yukito had come over to see Sakura hearing she had come to visit. After Syaoran reluctantly shook hands with him, they sat around the table to eat their breakfast.

Tomoyo declined hers, saying she had already finished hers with Eriol back in her house, to video tape the whole thing.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Touya remained oddly silent. He appeared to be a bit shaken and a little on the pale side. Nakuru who sat beside Syaoran, shot Touya concerned glances and frowned at him confused.

A sour look fluttered across Syaoran's face as he watched the scene before him with distaste. Sakura who was sitting beside Yukito, chatted away with him happily...

" What's so great about him ? " Syaoran muttered, turning to glare at the side of Yukito's face.

Tomoyo looked at Syaoran in amusement. " Oooh, a bit bothered on seeing Sakura talk to Yukito are we ? " she questioned slyly.

Syaoran's face immediately grew red.

"Are you saying " he hissed, his eyes narrowed " That I'm jealous of that...that..."

He gestured wildly at Yuktio, seemingly unable to find words horrible enough to describe him.

" I guess I hit a sore spot, huh ?" Tomoyo suggested with a laugh. " Well, I can't really blame you for feeling that way..." she began innocently

" This is all a part of falling in love after all... " she finished with a sly smile.

It took a moment for those words to sink in, during which Tomoyo took a devious amount of pleasure in watching and recording the realization dawn on his face.

" W-W - What? " he spluttered on his drink of water.

By the time he managed to regain some of his composure, the entire people including Sakura were staring at him with raised eyebrows and curious expressions.

Syaoran turned red and mumble an apology for spluttering drink on the table. Sakura waved off his apology and continued her talk with Yukito.

Syaoran thinned his lips shooting Tomoyo an accusing glare.

" Please don't say that again, Daidouji " he hissed with a pained look. " You nearly made me choke on water "

" Now, that would've been interesting " she commented giggling.

Syaoran rolled his eyes and tuned back in on the conversation, just in time to Sakura telling Yukito about his help in moving the couch.

" But he wouldn'tpush it hard enough ! " she exclaimed.

Touya had instantly stopped taking food and turnedpale, apparently the only words he heard were ' push ' and ' hard '.

Syaoran scowled " Hey I did my best ! In the end I got it there didn't I ? "

" Eriol would've done a better job than you ! Heck, even Tomoyo would have ! " she said with an eye roll.

" Oh god.." Touya muttered placing a hand over his mouth, his face coloring a sickly shade of green.

Syaoran glared at her " I don't think so, that couch was damn heavy to _push_.. no matter how _hard_ I tried "

Slowly things started clicking into place for Touya...

" Couch ? You..mean ...you guys were just moving the couch yesterday ? " he said incredulous.

" Yeah.." Sakura said and cocked her head to the side eyeing her brother with a frown " What did you think ? "

He blinked and then his shoulders shook, within seconds a rare sound was heard in the house of the Kinomoto's, the sound of Touya laughing heartily.

" Nothing, Kaijuu..." he said smiling " nothing at all..."

He slowly stood up and made his way towards his room to get ready for work, ignoring the raised eyebrow (Syaoran), widened eye (Sakura, Nakuru ) and astonished stares (Yukito and Tomoyo) coming from the table.

**OoOoOoOoO**

" Why did you take me here? " Syaoran growled as they stepped into Cheery-bloom Cafe.

The place was decorated entirely in pink, quite generous with the lace, bows, and ribbons, with accents of gold and pink hearts around the ceiling.

Syaoran scowl became even more pronounced as gold confetti came down his head as they entered the shop.

" They have to record something for our trip in Tomoeda ! " Sakura gritted out angrily " Tomoyo didn't allow to record our time in Tokyo, yesterday.. "

"...and let me guess, as a compromise we are having a lunch date ? " he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sakura nodded " Besides it wasn't my idea to come here, the cameraman thinks this is a lovely place.." She said, making her sarcasm obvious.

"Quite charming " Syaoran replied dryly " It looks like someone ate too many candy hearts and vomited all over the walls. "

Sakura laughed and they sat around a table and ordered their lunch. Unknown to them, a grey-raven haired girl standing outside the cafe next to a blue-haired man, was trying to strike off a deal with the cameraman.

" I'm sorry Miss, but I can't give you a copy of the tapes recorded during the show " the cameraman said firmly " The producer has strictly told me to do so "

" But I need to see the videos of my Sakura-chan's time in China ! " Tomoyo exclaimed with a pout.

Eriol smiled and whispered something in her ear.

Tomoyo grinned facing the cameraman " I'm willing to pay..."

The cameraman smiled " I never listen to the producer Miss, you can collect the tapes at my office "

Saying this, he went inside to bother -oops, _record_ Sakura and Syaoran in their date leaving a cheerful Tomoyo to hug an amused Eriol.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The afternoon came to an end and soon, Sakura was bidding farewell to her friends and family in Tomeda. It was time for to catch the flight back to China.

Touya , Eriol and Nakuru were near the gates watching them, while Syaoran stood next to the limo.

Tomoyo hugged her tightly " I'll miss you Sakura..." she whispered " Have fun... " she added with a wink as she released her.

Sakura frowned " Hoe? "

' What did Tomoyo mean by that ? '

So deeply was she immersed in thought, that she did not see the pile of melting snow in the path. Predictably, she slipped over it.

Even as she felt herself losing her balance, someone grabbed her hand to steady her. Sakura knew the identity of her savior the moment he touched her...there was a sense of deep familiarity, as if this sort of thing happened all the time...

...which was true, literally. Besides, she had never met another person who had the kind of quick reflexes Syaoran possessed.

She smiled up at him thankfully.

" You're so clumsy..." he reprimanded with a frown, still not releasing his hold on her.

Touya looked as though he couldn't decide whether to yell or throttle Syaoran...seeing the narrowed eyes of Nakuru he settled for gritting his teeth instead.

It was heard loud enough for both of them to spring apart blushing fiercely.

" Bye.." Sakura waved getting inside the car.

Syaoran was about to enter when suddenly he paused and turned to Touya. He looked at him square in the eye and said " I won't "

Touya blinked at first in confusion and then as he realised what Syaoran had said, he nodded his head.

" I'll hold you to that gaki " he said with a smirk.

Syaoran shot back a similar smirk and went inside the car. They soon drove off from towards the airport.

" What was that about ? " Sakura questioned curiously.

" Huh? "

" What you said to my oni-chan before getting in..." she asked raising an eyebrow.

Syaoran shrugged "Something I should've told your brother since yesterday..."

When Sakura questioned him further, Syaoran had irritably told her to stay out of it. This of-course resulted in another argument between them, ending in Sakura giving him the silent treatment.

It lasted during the entire ride to the airport, At the airport, On the plane ( even though he helped her air-sickness, a treacherous part of her mind accused Sakura ) and back in China.

"You know you can't ignore me forever " Syaoran pointed out with a smirk.

Sakura scowled and jutting her chin out defiantly, she walked towards the mansion with cool night air blowing around her face.

She quickly climbed the stairs and entered the girls-hall, only to pounced by the three eager girls who waited for her arrival anxiously.

" How did it go ? " Kasumi asked curiously.

" Did you get him in the sack ? " Kourin enquired with a grin.

Sakura's eyebrow twitched in irritation " It went ok I guess ...and no Kourin , I didn't get him in the sack " she said smiling a little.

"So what was he like in front your family? Was he decent? " Airo asked cautiously " I'm going with him next and I'm really worried about the whole meeting... "

Sakura winced remembering the fight between her brother and Syaoran. She eyed the girls who were keenly waiting for her reply, and shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, how do you think he would've behaved ? "she asked evasively.

" Like a gentleman ! " Kasumi said with a dreamy sigh " He would be that perfect kinda guy, who we can all introduce to our parents with no worry..."

Kourin nodded "Yup, then we can proceed to giving him strawberry and whipped cream in our room " she said giggling.

Airo shook her head with disgust " Seriously Kourin, get your head out of the gutter "

" Woah, that's asking too much gurl ! Why are you being so cruel to Kourin ? What did she ever do to deserve such a horrid punishment of not being a hentai ! " Kasumi exclaimed dramatically.

"Shut up " Airo said throwing a pillow at her and Sakura rolled her eyes.

Kourin grinned and looked at Sakura " Say, why don't you tell something about Syaoran? Like his habits or maybe his favorite food..."

" Yeah, tell us about him ! " Kasumi pleaded.

Sakura blinked, she didn't expect such a question. She fought down a scowl that threatened to come on her face, on seeing the girls eagerness.

She just didn't understand these girls...instead of asking her how she was or, whether she had a good time with her family, these girls wanted to know only about Syaoran.

_How was the date with Syaoran? How did Syaoran behave? What does Syaoran like? _

' Him, him, him, it's always about him ! ' Sakura thought with an inward scowl. Her previous argument with Syaoran was still fresh in her mind...

' Well then, if they want to know about him so badly, then I'll just have to tell them about him...' a smirk covered her lips ' _As I see it..._'

Sakura bit back a laugh and feigned a worried expression on her face " I don't know if I should tell you about this..." she said cautiously.

As Sakura predicted in her mind, the girls instantly turned highly curious.

" Tell us what ? " Airo asked anxiously.

" Um, Well... Syaoran has a, erm, slight problem.." Sakura began.

" What sort of problem ? " Kourin questioned.

" He confessed this to me, when I offered him to stay at my house... " Sakura wriggled her hands, in supposed nerves.

" Spill it gurl ! " Kasumi ordered.

" Syaoran...He...he still wets his bed every-night "

The girls gasped.

" Oh my gosh ! No way ! " Airo screeched in disbelief.

Kasumi had a dumbstruck expression " Holy crap! " she muttered eyes wide.

'And they said I was gullible... ' Sakura thought with a slight smirk.

" H-how... oh god, I told my parents that he'd stay at my house...but now...he...I " Airo stuttered " Oh, what am I going to do ? " she shouted trembling.

" Well, I think I can help you with that..." Sakura said innocently.

**OoOoOoOoO**

It was the dawn of a beautiful morning, and our favorite bachelor was getting ready for his daily jogging routine. The camera crew, had come early to record the start of his trip to visit Airo's parents living in Taipie.

Just as he was about to go outside, he saw Airo coming towards him holding a brown package in her hand.

" Here Syaoran, this is for you " she said shoving the package in his hands " It'll help you with your problem..."

" And what problem do I have ? " Syaoran asked frowning.

" Well, you know.." Airo said, embarrassed. " Your bedwetting problem. "

Syaoran tore open the brown package.

It held... pampers.

Adult pampers.

" Sakura told us all about it... " she told him.

Syaoran clenched his jaw and to his great horror, he saw the cameraman recording all this with a gleeful smile.

" It doesn't matter " Airo added consolingly " People grow out of it. "

" Get away from me " Syaoran said glaring and tossed the pampers back at her.

" But, Syaoran.. "

Ignoring her, Syaoran stormed back in, cursing Sakura under his breath. A throat laughter greeted his ears and he looked up the stairs to see Sakura clutching her sides her body shaking with laughter.

The gleam in his eyes was definitely predatory as he walked towards her. His gait was slow and deliberate, almost wolf-like, Sakura felt the laughter die on her throat and her mouth went dry at his approach.

He stopped directly in front of her, standing so close that she had to tilt her head way back to meet his gaze. It occurred to her suddenly that he was taller than she had remembered...

He leaned in towards her ears, making her whole body tingle as his soft breath fell on her neck.

" That was a devious little prank my cherry blossom... " he murmured, his warm breath tickled her ear like an intimate caress.

She could not see Syaoran's expression, but she would have laid odds that he was smirking.

"And... revenge shall be bitter sweet " he whispered pulling away.

**A/N: **I would like to thank certain readers for their encouraging reviews, but as fanfiction dot net doesn't allow us to respond to reviews in our author notes anymore, I'll just have to give you all a big thumbs-up, instead. Even if you can't see it.

This chapter as you can see had The Dream card in it, so that whole scene was a premonition really. And as for what Syaoran said to Touya at the end...the clue lies in what he explained to Sakura...which will lead you to the previous chapter dialogues between Touya and him of course ! Let's see how many of you can get it right...

PS:- I did my exams well, thank you for asking.


	19. The Elders

**Disclaimer**: Go read the previous ones.

Thanks to everyone for reviewing last chapter.

**A special thanks **to Heaven wouldn't take me and Hell was afraid I would take over, for being my 666th reviewer ! -gives you a hat with two red horns and scuffles away slowly - looks like you took over hell gurl ! **:3**

Chapter 19:- The Elders.

Syaoran smirked, for once he seemed to be having a good day - and not the usual good day (like the ones that lasted two hours and then turned into rotten days) but the good type that stayed good all day.

The entire hometown dates had finished, and so was The Rose Ceremony. He had rejected Airo, mainly because her family were a bunch of weirdos.

Plus, she actually was idiotic enough to believe Sakura and go with her prank. His eyes darkened as he recalled the scene.

' Soon.. I'd have my revenge ' he thought a smirk gracing his lips.

Sakura on the other hand, was having a not-so-wonderful day. Ever since Syaoran had told her about his plan on revenge, she had been extra cautious. She never let her guard down when near Syaoran, any more than she would around a coiled-up rattlesnake.

Her eyes twitched as she watched Kourin and Kasumi engaged in a fierce argument.

" Urgh, no way gurl ! He would look good in brown ! " Kasumi said nodding her head.

Kourin frowned " Black is his color... Men look sexy in black " she announced with a grin.

The person whom they are referring to as 'He' and 'Him', should be quite obvious.

" The brown will bring out his Amber eyes..." Kasumi sighed dreamily " He will look very enticing "

" Especially with a fork in his head..." Sakura mumbled snidely under her breath.

Kasumi and Kourin shared a look. " Someone's cranky... " they cooed much to her irritation.

Sakura scowled " I am not cranky ! "

" Hmm.. must be love then " Kasumi said with a grin. " People in love are quite moody... "

" I am not in love ! " Sakura shouted with a glare.

" Denial..." Kasumi said in sing-song voice.

Sakura narrowed her eyes and was ready to yell when Shiefa strode in with a huge smile.

" Good morning " she said with a grin " There's only three of you now... Are you all happy and excited? "

" My heart is soaring " Sakura muttered with an eye-roll.

Kasumi and Kourin frowned at her, but Shiefa laughed. " No need for sarcasm missy " she said gently " Well, I guess I'll tell you the plans for the next date "

Seeing the eager looks on the girls she continued " Usually, we do the Dream Dates, but we changed plans. You all get to visit Syaoran's house and meet his family "

The girls squealed, except for Sakura who looked ready to scream.

"You're joking, right ? " she asked in disbelief.

Shiefa giggled and shook her head "No, each one of you will stay at the Li mansion in central Hong-Kong. It's 20 miles from here "

Sakura resisted the urge to groan. The whole meet-the-family-and-get-to-know-them-better was starting to irritate her.

" The first date goes to Sakura and then it's Kasumi and finally Kourin " Shiefa said smiling " You'll be leaving today, probably within the next hour. Bye, girls " she waved and went off.

Kasumi grinned "oooh, Sakura got the first date. You know what they say..." she began mysteriously.

Kourin looked thoughtful " First come, first serve ? " she asked with a teasing smile.

Sakura thinned her lips and watched Kasumi shake her head as a ' no'.

Kourin raised an eye-brow " All the good stuff goes to the first ones ? "

" Nope "

" I give up, what is it ? " Kourin said with a pout.

Kasumi giggled "I have no idea, gimme a minute and I'll come up with something "

Sakura gritted her teeth and stormed out of the hall, just as she came down the stairs a phone rang. She went near the phone stand and frowned wondering whether she should answer it or not.

" When a phone rings you're supposed to pick it up " a voice snapped from above.

Sakura whipped her head and saw Syaoran scowling down at her from above the stairs.

" Pick it up " he commanded with a glare.

Sakura was about to shout that she wasn't his slave or house maid, but the ringing was getting on her nerves. She threw him a dirty look and picked up the phone.

" Hello "

" Is Syaoran there ? " a gentle female voice asked on the other end.

Sakura smirked " I'm sorry, but he currently has a giant stick shoved up his butt and is being characteristically cruel. Please hold for a while ... "

" And who is this ? " the voice asked with a hint of amusement.

" I'm Syaoran's rampant sex monkey, and you are ?"

" His mother "

Sakura clapped a hand to her mouth and stared in horror at Syaoran who just came down.

" Who is it ?" he asked with a frown, apparently he didn't hear her chat.

" It's for you " Sakura said with a nervous laugh and shoved the phone into his hands.

" Hello?" Syaoran asked curiously, before his expression faded slowly into realization, and finally, irritation. He covered the phone and glared at her. "You - stairs - get ready - now !"

Sakura didn't need to be told twice and quickly picked her way across the room, and went up the stairs. Ignoring the questioning looks of her two friends, she bolted inside her room and got dressed.

She walked out and down the stairs to see Syaoran looking positively livid and still talking into the phone.

" Get in the car ! " he barked covering it once again and threw the keys at her.

Sakura nodded and went outside towards his silver Escalade and dived into the car. When she settled inside she finally allowed herself to grimace.

The temptation to just drive away without him was amazingly strong, and she had to sit on her hands to keep from reaching over to take the wheel.

Only moments after she had actually gotten herself seated in the car, Syaoran appeared, not looking at all like a particularly happy bunny.

He yanked the door open rather harshly plonked down in the drivers seat and slammed the door after him -Sakura winced at each loud noise.

After a moment he released his clenched fists and turned a low glare on her. " I'm very much tempted to kill you right now..." he gritted out angrily.

Sakura scowled at him "What's stopping you ? " she asked defiantly.

" The promise to your brother " he said with a smirk " I told him I wouldn't kill you, even if you act like a bitch. "

Her eyes flashed at the insult " Why you arrogant bas- "

" That's what I told him at the end, ' I won't ' as in I won't kill her " Syaoran lied, cutting in smartly with a sadistic smile.

What he really promised to Touya was that he wouldn't hurt Sakura. ' But damned if I ever tell her that ' he thought darkly.

Her fist clenched in barely suppressed anger and she willed herself not to claw his eyes out.

" Give me the keys, I'm driving " he told her.

Sure enough Sakura had a look of sheer terror on her face. "You're d-driving ? "

"Yes...that's what people do when they sit in the drivers seat...they drive the car " He explained extra slowly, as if she was the biggest fool in the world for asking the question in the first place.

Sakura was oblivious to his jab " You mean I have to stay in the car with you driving TWENTY MILES ? "

Syaoran nodded smiling wickedly, and this caused Sakura to panic.

She quickly swung open the door and bolted out. Syaoran predicting this, went after her and grabbed her waist, dragging her towards the car.

"Noooo! Let me go ! " Sakura struggled from his hold " I want to live ! "

" No need for theatrics " Syaoran said with an eye roll.

Sakura seized her struggle and Syaoran let go of her, sensing her calm down. He walked ahead towards his car and Sakura followed him at a slower pace.

Syaoran stood next to his car and frowned looking at her, she appeared to be talking to herself. When she came within the hearing range...

" ...And I'm sorry for that one time I stomped Oni-chan and dropped a bowling ball on his toe. Please forgive me of all of my sins and grant me another day of life..."

"... I ask that you would keep us from colliding with objects that could kill us, and it would be really great if you would strike and impair Syaoran with a lightning bolt before we pull out of here. Amen. " She finished as she slowly got in the car.

Syaoran was giving her the evil eye the whole time.

Throwing the keys at him, Sakura kept her eyes clenched shut during the entire trip, but she could tell from the amount of swaying and careening around that Syaoran was still driving like some drunk maniac.

**OoOoOoOoO**

After sometime sensing the car slowing down, Sakura opened her eyes and her jaw dropped.

They were passing some rich neighborhood, with houses that could only be described as gigantic! There were even security guards placed in and out of the house.

In the distance, she spotted a gorgeous, white mansion built to perfection and almost isolated from other _houses_ .

Syaoran turned into a road leading to that mansion, which also led to the main gates. The main gates made Sakura gulp because the gateway consisted of ten feet brick walls complete with barbed wires on top.

If she had considered The Li mansion, where she and the girls were staying, as big...then this one was Super Huge !

After the guards opened the gate, Syaoran drove down the long stretch of road leading to the beautiful mansion.

They pulled to a stop and Sakura got out dazedly.

The house was a gigantic three stories high and it seemed to stretch on forever. Huge fountains trickled merrily and a garden full of white and pink roses was placed on the side.

Syaoran smiled at her gawking expression and steered her towards the entrance. As they neared the door, they heard someone running towards them from inside.

He grinned and kneeled down flailing out his arms, just in time to catch a blur that jumped on him with a squeal.

" Uncle Syaooooraaaan ! "

Sakura watched with wide eyes as a small girl embraced Syaoran smiling happily.

" I missed you "

Syaoran laughed and placed a small kiss on her forehead " I missed you too Yuiren "

" Hey what about me ! " a boy questioned coming towards them, he looked a lot like the small girl, but he was a bit more tall and older.

Syaoran got up and ruffled the boys hair, earning a protest " You too Chuie ! "

Chuie grinned and turned towards Sakura " Is she your girlfriend ? " he asked curiously.

Sakura blushed.

" You're very pretty... I like you... " Yuiren said and giggled.

Syaoran groaned " I swear she's starting to sound like her mother " he said, his cheeks a suspicious shade of pink

" You say that as if it's a bad thing ! " a voice teased.

They all looked up and saw three young woman standing near the doorway with smiles on their face. When they caught sight of Sakura, all of them squealed and rushed towards her.

They were pinching her cheeks and saying random things like: " You're so sweet ! " " Kawaii! "

Sakura blushed furiously and sweatdropped at the same time. Syaoran rolled his eyes,

" These are my sisters Xifie, Futie and Fanren. That's Xifie's daughter Yuiren and son Chuie " he introduced tem when he noticed her questioning gaze.

A familiar face walked up to them from inside and smiled at the person happily.

" Wei-san ! Nice to see you again " she greeted with a bow.

Wei smiled gently " Nice to see you too Miss. Sakura and Welcome to our Li mansion "

Sakura smiled back and they all made their way inside. Her mouth dropped as she slowly went in.

"Oh my god... " Sakura whispered breathlessly, her eyes wide as she eyed the hallway.

There was a long carpet checker-styled leading from the doorway to the back of the long hall, where Sakura could see a set of stylish stairs leading to the second floor.

Right behind the stairs were long, tall windows showing the outdoor room of the whole estate, which included a swimming pool which Sakura didn't doubt was heated, a Jacuzzi, and numerous other delights---all enclosed in a room made of glass, so that the sun could shine through the glass ceiling on a hot day, but kept out the rain on a cold day.

The walls of the halls were decorated with paintings of the strangest things, varying from Chinese artifacts and paintings.

Beautiful crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling at different lengths and Sakura looked up at them thoroughly marveled. She looked like a dead fish as she stared at all the interesting things that captured her attention.

" No drooling on the carpet " Syaoran teased her.

Sakura immediately shut her mouth and shot him a glare.

Wei turned towards her " You will stay here for two days. We have about five or six spare, you may choose whichever one you like the most "

**OoOoOoOoO**

Sakura was smiling so much, that she felt her face hurting. She had chosen her dream room and it was perfect.  
Absolutely perfect.

She squealed happily as she grabbed the incredibly fluffy, downy pillow and hugged it to her chest. She had checked all the rooms before, and this one was the one that stood out to her the most---not to mention it was enormous.

It was bathed in shades of baby blue, pink and white. It was definitely an odd combination of colors, but the decorator definitely put a new meaning to the word _fabulous_ .

She had chosen the room overlooking the extra room with the swimming pool and Jacuzzi. If there wasn't a glass ceiling there, Sakura had wondered whether she could have dived into the pool from the second story.

Her bed had white sheets adorned with pale blue hibiscus flowers. She had more pillows than she had pairs of dresses...and Sakura had lots of dress, all thanks to Tomoyo.

She ran a hand over the couch and realized the material was soft. Jumping over the couch, she landed in its cushions and immediately understood what people meant by heaven on earth. The couch was absolutely..._ comfortable_...

It was situated plop next to the bed, which was facing a huge flat screen TV.

Eight different colored star-shaped lamps hung from the ceiling in a swirling pattern. Directly opposite of her bed, the wall was decorated with pots of white and baby blue fake flowers.

She also had a walk-in wardrobe, which was empty, but Sakura didn't care at all---it made her feel happy just by having one.

If her bedroom wasn't enough, her bathroom made her feel like she had been thrown right in the middle of the ocean. The walls were decorated with semi-transparent light blue tiles and the whole room had a toilet, shower and hot tub.

Although Wei had insisted it was small, she was sure half the rooms upstairs her house could fit in this _small _bathroom.

' God, the Li's are a very wealthy family ! No wonder Syaoran grew up so arrogant and mean ' she thought with a scowl.

But as far as she could remember, Syaoran had never mentioned or flaunted about his wealth... and his sisters didn't come across her as snobs either, quite the opposite really...

' Then what made him grow so bitter ? ' she wondered wrinkling her eyebrows.

While Sakura was lost in thoughts in her new found room, on the other side of the mansion Syaoran and his sisters where sitting in the hall listening to him shout pacing around.

" But why are they coming ? " Syaoran shouted with a glare.

Fanren rolled her eyes "For the last time Xiaolang, they're the Elders ! Their decision is very important "

His two other sisters nodded in agreement.

" They need to meet the girls, and see if they are fit to be the future wife of the Li clan leader " Futie said firmly.

His mood darkened as memories of his childhood whizzed past him... his fathers death...training to be the Li clan leader... He couldn't help but bitterly realize that The Elders were present in every single one of the memories...

Syaoran shook his head, this was not the time to dwell on the past.

The prospect of making the Elders meet the girls, sounded ridiculous to him. And what ticked him off more was that they didn't even bother to inform him of their arrival.

" You know what I hate ? " he asked grumpily.

" I have a list somewhere..." Fanren muttered sarcastic.

" Dogs ?" Futie said from where she was sitting on the couch.

" No " Syaoran frowned at her.

" Love letters " Xifie guessed wildly.

" No! "

" The color pink ? " Fanren shrugged.

" Babies " Futie guessed again.

" The next door neighbor when they leave the kids in our house saying they're visiting a sick person, but in actual they're just going out to a party " Fanren nodded " I know you hate that."

" No !" Syaoran grouched. "I hate it when-"

" When the Elders come without any warning assuming they know better and interrogate your date ? " Xifie asked with a smirk " Feel free to bitch, Xiaolang. My husband and I suffered the same fate "

Syaoran's eyebrow ticked. "Actually... I absolutely hate it when people drown kittens."

**OoOoOoOoO**

Sakura had never been so nervous in her life, but here she was pacing in the room and cursing a certain Bachelor.

Syaoran had barged into her room a while ago smokes practically pouring out his ears. He rudely told her to stop gawking and get ready to meet his Mother and Elders.

Who or What the Elders were, Syaoran didn't explain. But from the way he said it, Sakura realized that they were very important.

But what made Sakura nervous, was the prospect of meeting Syaoran's mother. Thanks to her incredibly stupid behavior in the phone early morning, the thought facing the woman sacred her to the end.

From the way she answered in the phone, Sakura knew that his mother was very gentle...but still there's no telling what will happen during the meeting.

After-all she did tell Syaoran's mother that she was his sons RAMPANT SEX MONKEY !

" Oh god..." Sakura muttered hopelessly " I feel like I'm waiting for my death "

" That's because you are " a voice said from the doorway.

Sakura snapped her head to meet Syaoran.

" A death from boredom and..." a small smirk graced his lips " Mortification from your little stunt this morning "

"Geez, thanks for soothing my tension. I feel so much better now ! " Sakura said sarcastically.

Syaoran's mouth twitched with held back laughter " Yes well, people do say that I have an usual talent of helping them..."

Sakura rolled her eyes at him and he shot her a smile. Together they went along the long halls towards the meeting place.

" Hm..." an Elder with a green Chinese robe murmured watching Sakura.

They were now sitting around a table with the five Elders.

They had a long white moustache that framed the two side of their mouth and ended down the chin. Their eyebrows were white and sharp, and their long hair was tied into a bun on top of their heads with two brown sticks holding their place.

" You are the card mistress... But you do not quite appear the way we had imagined... " he said entwining his fingers on top of the table.

Sakura's eyebrows ticked ' Geez, what did they expect ? I should have a giant tail and two horns on my head for being a card-mistress ? '

" No matter " another one said in the same dead tone. " Let's get to the important matters shall we ? "

Without waiting for an answer they continued.

" Syaoran Li is the leader of our clan. As per the tradition he should have been engaged and married by this age " Sakura noted the disdain entering his voice " Seeing as how he apparently _failed_ to do that... we had to take measures "

Syaoran clenched his fist and his jaw hardened in held back anger.

" Hence, we agreed on him participating in this show. Shame, how a person in a powerful position as a leader could not even find himself a decent suitor till now " one of them said shaking his head in disgust.

Sakura glanced at Syaoran through the corner of and she felt a deep pang going through her inside. His pose was rigid, a stance Sakura knew he only did when angry and his eyes...they seemed so cold and hard.

Memories of seeing Syaoran's photos as Shiefa gave them, flashed through her mind.

He had looked so innocent and carefree as a child...but then, something had changed... the pictures she saw of his 7 year old self, weren't similar to the ones before..

Gone was the carefree look...the heart warming smile... replaced by emotions far more painful for a little child.. sadness, longing and loneliness...

Her chest clutched in pain, as slowly realization dawned on her.

' It was them ! ' Sakura thought with a jolt ' They were responsible for this...their harsh words...their authority. They were the ones who took away his innocence.. his smile.. his childhood...'

Her eyes flashed as anger bubbled within her.

" It's not like you're any better! Trying to run his life and berating him at the same time, if this isn't the lowest degree of a shameful act, then I don't know what is ! "

The words were past her lips before she could stop them and an instant shocked silence settled in the room.

" Such insolence ! " one of the Elders said angrily. " How dare a pathetic excuse for a card mistress like you- "

He never got to finish the sentence for Syaoran had slammed his fist loudly on the table.

" Enough ! " he shouted harshly " Sakura proved herself worthy of the cards and her magic is more powerful than Clow Reeds. If anyone is pathetic in here then it's obviously all of you, for you showed disrespect to the Card Mistress. "

Everyone in the room could feel Syaoran's powerful green aura flare with subdued rage. " And never insult Sakura in front of me again, I will not tolerate it ! "

Sakura's eyes softened " Syaoran... " she whispered barely audible, touched by his words.

A loud cough brought their attention back to the door way and they saw an elderly woman, wearing a Chinese traditional red dress standing there, her aura practically radiated wisdom and power.

She came in and cast the Elders a reproachful look, the one that appeared clearly because she had witnessed everything that happened inside.

" I'm Yelan Li, Xiaolang's mother " she said coming near Sakura, whose eyes widened with surprise. Yelan noted with amusement that Sakura gulped a little and a look of embarrassment crossed her eyes.

" Please forgive us " she continued apologetically " Such rude behavior towards a woman and the Card Mistress no less is unacceptable "

Sakura felt the last part of the sentence was directed more at the Elders than her, but she still nodded her head as ' yes'

Yelan smiled at her gently and turned to face the Elders with a stern expression " The meeting is over you may leave " she said firmly.

The Elders looked among themselves and silently if not a bit hostile stood up and left the room.

**OoOoOoOoO**

When the Elders had left, Syaoran's sisters had barged in each looking in awe at Sakura and Syaoran.

They had immediately pinched Sakura's cheeks and hugged her telling how happy they were for _' getting the old geezers off their high horse and whipping their sorry little wrinkled ass '_

This earned a laugh from Syaoran and an eye roll from Yelan. After that they all had lunch together, during which Sakura grew am instant liking towards Syaoran's mother.

They had talked a lot, especially about her The Sakura cards and her adventures in transforming them.

Even though Yelan had teased on having an interesting conversation with Sakura on the phone before, she didn't press the matter any further. Not only that, but Sakura found out that many of their interest match as well.

Shiefa had called later in the evening, announcing their plan to shoot an episode of Syaoran and Sakura having dinner with his family.

Sakura's eyes twitched as the camera zoomed in on her walking towards the dinner table. Even though Tomoyo constantly recorded her, Sakura still found the prospect of someone capturing all her moves on camera a bit disturbing .

With a barely suppressed groan she sat down on a chair. Syaoran's niece and nephew had already gone to bed, worn off from playing with Sakura too much in the evening.

" Oooh, Sakura ! I have got just the thing to show you ! " Futie said showing a red book, which looked like a photo album to Sakura.

The sheer look of terror on Syaoran's face, who sat opposite to her, confirmed Sakura's suspicion.

" Wasn't he such a precious baby ! " she cooed, quickly getting up from her chair and running to Sakura's side to  
show her an old photo of a baby, who she guessed was Syaoran.

Her stomach clenched on looking at it and she tightened the hold on her glass of water.

Sure, Syaoran was very cute but there was a little problem. There was not a single bit of clothe on him, and a rather nasty trail of nose drippings was on his face.

Sakura's mouth twitched a bit uncertainly, she was stuck somewhere between being horribly amused and disgusted.

" Futie ! " Syaoran jumped to his feet and lunged in an attempt to grab the album from his sisters hand.

But she merely giggled and moved out of the way, thus causing him to land on Sakura instead. The impact made the chair fall backward and they both toppled to the ground with a thud.

The glass of water on her hand flew and hit the floor splashing everywhere, Wei who had come to help Syaoran and Sakura up, accidentally stepped on it and slipped.

The trays full of food he was carrying catapulted and landed with loud smacks on Xifie and Fanren's head dumping noodles and gravy all over their face and dress.

The entire room went silent, except for the cameraman who was recording all this with choked up laughter.

" Well, this will make a wonderful story for my future grand children, no? " Yelan said with a chuckle.

This started led everyone in the room to start laughing heartily, much to the embarrassment of Syaoran and Sakura.

As soon as the dinner was over, Yelan and her daughters excused themselves and the cameraman left still chuckling.

Syaoran searched wildly about the room as they made their exit.

Sakura watched him curiously " What exactly... are you looking for?"

" My dignity. Have you seen it around ?"

Sakura laughed " I think I saw it crawl out after Futie showed the album "

He nodded back with a wry smile " I thought so "

**OoOoOoOoO**

Sakura and Syaoran were standing in the backyard gardens of the mansion. They came here to get some fresh air and relax after the events of today.

" Hey Syaoran, The Elders...where they always like this to you ? " Sakura enquired furrowing her brows.

" Yes "

" But why...?"

His was voice was soft as he spoke, and Sakura noted the sadness in them " After my father died, they thought the best way to treat me to be a perfect leader was that manner. Cold and Harsh "

Syaoran could not understand why he was telling her this, why he hadn't already changed the subject, why he simply couldn't tell her that it was getting and that he needs to go to sleep. Why was she asking him all of these questions?

And yet, her expression was so innocent, so open, so honest, that he knew there was no hidden agenda, no attempt to wrench painful secrets from his past. She was simply curious, and concerned.

She cared.

" Wei trained me in martial arts and Meilin was also a student there. The Elders never let me do things on my own, and they constantly watch over me to see if I'm progressing. Since you released the cards, I was told to go capture and retrieve them from you "

His eyes hardened " But I didn't exactly succeed in that did I ? "

Sakura bit her lip and was about to say something but he continued.

" After I came back, I knew they were disapointed in me for not passing Yue's test. So in-order to please them, I trained myself harder and got excellent grades. But no matter what I did, they always seemed to be dissatisfied. They still don't believe I'm good enough to be the Li clan leader..." he trailed off bitterly.

Sakura's felt her heart constrict at the sight of him: eyes closed, his bangs covering his expression, lips thinned to a line, fists clenched...

He looked so broken, so _alone_... Before even realizing that she had moved, her arms were around him, her head buried in his shoulder.

Syaoran's eyes flew open, at the soft warmth that suddenly enveloped him. He looked down to see Sakura hugging him tightly.

Words were not needed between them, for he understood the true meaning behind the simple gesture.

A genuine smile graced his lips as he entwined his arms around her small frame. He buried his head between her soft hair and breathed in it's unique sweet scent.

They stayed this way for a long time..

As though time had stopped and nothing existed but them and this moment...their emotions contrasting greatly with cold snowflakes that continued to fall down from the sky.

**To be able to feel the warmth of someone important to you. That's an extraordinary blessing…**

A/N: I believe the Eldersare quite heartless for they forced Syaoran to train at such a young age... from the anime we only know Meilin was his friend right? And Syaoran was a down right jerk at the beginning.. I'm guessing the Elders were responsible for all this...

**READ: **I'm moving away to Australia for my college, so it may take a while for me to adjust there and update...it's going to be really hard to make time, but don't worry I'll update this fic...eventually **;P**


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